


All About Lily

by Nomomom



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-04-22 17:02:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14313228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomomom/pseuds/Nomomom
Summary: My name is Charlotte Evans. Never heard of me? Im not surprised, im practically nonexistant. You probably know my twin though, Lily Evans. Yes, the 6th year with bright red hair and amazing green eyes. Why am i sitting with the Marauders you ask? Because i made a stupid deal with James Potter. Yes, the gorgeous Quidditch captain. Im so lucky? You are dearly mistaken. (OC/JP)~ Originally uploaded to FFN, just giving AO3 a go :)





	1. Chapter 1

POVs: Charlotte Evans

Word Count: 4,648 words

Date posted: 14/04/2018

Chapter One

 

(~Charlotte Evans~)

 "Sorry, what did you say your name was again?" She asked, a barely contained sigh leaving her lips as she watched him from her languid position across from him, her head resting heavily on one of her hands.

Her head was pounding and the noise level of the great hall wasn't exactly beneficial to her hangover. Whereas most of the students were hung-over from last night's Quidditch win, Charlotte was feeling the effects of her party for one.

Her long blonde hair was knotted and tied loosely to the nape of her neck in an attempt to hide the birds' nest no doubt hidden within her locks. She had dark rings around her eyes which could tell endless stories of what excitement she could have been up to the night before, though only really sharing that she was exhausted beyond belief.

Even though she had a long warm shower that morning, she still stunk of fire whiskey and for some reason, no matter how many times she cast _tergeo_ on her robes; they refused to return to its usual cleanliness. If anything, she found her uniform to be dirtier. _And had that rip in her shirt always been there?_

All in all, she wasn't in a very good mood. She had attempted to arrive at the great hall an hour before breakfast officially started in the hopes of avoiding her classmates and students in general, yet not 5 minutes after being seated in the spectacularly quiet room, students filed in.

And here, in front of her, sat a boy that she had never, not once, held a conversation with, but managed to know far too much about.

Of course she knew his name, she would have to be _obliviated_ of the last 6 years at Hogwarts to not know his name, but she knew from past experiences that a grand total of two people in her year knew her name, and it was proven that things could turn rather awkward when Charlotte knew a lot about a person who didn't know she even existed.

"James, James Potter," He said with a dazzling smile and cheery voice. How he wasn't at all affected by last night antics, Charlotte would never know. He was captain of the bloody team, so it was highly likely that he had been intoxicated more than most, if other parties held any example.

Yet he sat before her, dark thick hair dishevelled, though that was apparently his usual style, blue eyes just as bright as any other day behind his thin wired glasses. His uniform was impeccably clean and he smelled of mint and, strangely enough, a musky wooden smell.

Not a single aspect of his appearance or mannerisms suggested he had taken part in late night celebrations, so she concluded that he was either part Veela, and was doing some sort of weird mind trick on her which made him seem presentable when, all things considered, he really shouldn't be, or he had taken some sort of potion which took away the effects of a hangover.

The second seemed to be more likely.

She didn't ignore the possibility of him being part Veela however, as she never usually found herself studying a boy's appearance as much as she seemed to with this particular boy. He was good looking enough that she felt...well, _awkward_ in his presence. The idea that someone who always seemed so out of sorts, managed to look unintentionally good, bordered on sinful.

"You're a bloody idiot James Potter, and i won't help you," Charlotte said with fake cheeriness and a dark smile, knowing it supported, quite clearly, that she held no wish to take part in anything he had suggested. To be truthful, she'd mildly ignored most of what he'd said, more curious that he had come to her at all.

Potter's cocky smirk dropped instantly at her words and she found herself inwardly sighing in relief at the slightly less attractive facial expression. Still attractive, but not enough that she was questioning whether someone had slipped something into her porridge.

As if to solidify her rejection, she flung her spoon towards the end of the Gryffindor table where some firsties were talking animatedly about, who knows what, and who really cares. With her spoon came some of the porridge from her bowl, effectively splattering the table at least a metre in front of the both of them and luckily (for them) missing either of their uniforms.

"Now please move away, and leave me alone," she said, dropping the fake attitude and ending with a glare.

Charlotte knew she was being a bit of a prat, but honestly, what did he expect. If there is one thing that others should learn about Charlotte, it's that you do NOT discuss her sister with her. Potter broke her one significant rule when he plopped his ass onto the bench across from her, changing her mood from foul to downright vicious.

Charlotte ignored his company, going back to her breakfast meal, which looked more like the vomit that stained several corners of the Gryffindor common room early that morning, then what breakfast should be. It was however somewhat healthy, and always helped her hangovers. Which is why she ignored its gag inducing appearance and focused on the taste, which truthfully, was no better.

"Look Catherine…" Potter started in a low voice.

Charlotte groaned loudly, obviously loud enough that Potter stopped whatever he was saying mid sentence to raise a brow. She was used to this, yet it still drove her up the wall every time it happened.

"It's Charlotte, you _prat_ ," she growled pushing away the bowl of porridge, somehow losing her appetite for vomity bland food.

Charlotte could write a list of the number of people who forgot her name, continuously introduced themselves, asked if she was new or mixed up her name. That list would likely be longer than the potions essay she had yet to finish and that was one bloody long essay.

"I'm not helping you, so you might as well bugger off," She said, rubbing the sides of her head in soothing circles, hoping the action took away the throbbing pain which still hadn't faded from the moment she woke up that morning.

"Why not?" Potter moaned, his confused face turning down into a sad frown. The alcohol was obviously taking its time leaving her system, because her insides completely melted when she looked up to meet his wide, puppy like eyes.

Her insides might have melted, but she held her cold stance, glaring down at him from across the table.

"Well, firstly…you didn't even know my name." Potter went to interject, but Charlotte's hand which rose as fast as a whip to stop him from continuing, silencing him instantly. She had still yet to get to the most important point, and Circe be damned if she didn't make it exactly clear why she had said no in the first place.

"Two, I'm not helping you get with my bloody sister!"

Yes, the incessant fool had begged her to form a camaraderie of sorts in the hopes that it would win over her sister's heart. Perhaps if her sister wasn't Lily Evans, she might've helped him, and it just might have worked. As it were, she had the unavoidable, disdainful pleasure of being the twin to the fabulous Lily Evans, and no amount of begging could convince her to help him win over her sister.

Charlotte loved her sister; do not forget that one simple fact. She undeniably hated her all the same. She was THE EVANS. As far as the wizarding world knew, Lily Evans doesn't have a sister. Forget the wizarding world, her bloody year never failed to forgot that Lily Evans had a twin sister who was in every class she was, the same bloody house and shared a bloody dorm with her.

Charlotte was simply the plainer version of Lily. Where Lily had voluminous ruby hair which curled against her back charmingly and never seemed to be tangled, Charlotte had dirty blonde hair which was in a constant state of knots and birds' nests no matter how many charms she put on her head. Charlotte's deep blue eyes were nothing in contrast to Lily's forest green doe shaped eyes.

Lily was small and petite. Charlotte had inches on her, favouring her fathers tall, athletic build. Honestly, the only real physical connection that the twins had was their face. They had the same button nose and plumped ruby lips. Same heart shaped face and small chin.

People still questioned their legitimacy whenever they were together however, and no matter how many times Lily told them that 'yes, we are twins', and 'no obviously not identical', 'yes we don't look alike', 'obviously because we are not identical', the conversation still resulted in the questioning in Charlotte's legitimacy as an Evans, never Lily.

This was why Charlotte, who both loved and hated her sister, refused to talk about her to anyone else.

Potter certainly wasn't the first gentleman who had attempted to approach her in the hopes of getting her sisters attention. He was however doing the best, considering he was sitting before her still, un-hexed and all his bodily functions intact. This was most likely due to the fact that Charlotte couldn't quite bring herself to hex someone who, so far, had only been mildly frustrating because of his interest in her sister.

"Think of it this way," Potter offered, holding his hands out in a silent plea, his eyes still wide. "You help me out, give me tips and stuff about Lily, and I'll do something for you?"

"Potter, not that having you owe me doesn't sound riveting." _Which it truly didn't._ "You do realise my sister can barely stand being in your presence. What makes you think that having my help will increase your chances of dating her?"

Charlotte waited, watching with slight amusement as Potter's blue eyes glanced around the room desperately. She assumed he was looking for an excuse that would convert her to his side of thinking, but his attempts were fruitless.

Even if Charlotte helped him, Lily wouldn't stand for it.

From the very moment Lily met Potter, she disliked him. Charlotte only knew this because she had spent an entire night back in first year complaining about how 'Insufferable, immature, inappropriate and cruel,' he was. The insults had long since expanded and Charlotte couldn't think of a single person who disliked someone else more than she. Though considering He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was on the rise, he may have some clear competition for that regard.

Charlotte never could understand her clear disdain for him, then again, Lily was a tad of a tight ass who spent far too much time attempting to get herself made head girl, helping others and being liked by the general public to ever sit down and have a conversation with the bloke without hyper analysing everything he said. For all Charlotte knew, Potter could be a total charmer, a sweetheart in disguise. That she doubted, considering he was almost as much a man-whore as his best friend Sirius Black. Still, she liked to think she would judge a person after collecting all the evidence, unlike Lily who took what she saw at face value.

"I've thought it through and in my opinion," Potter said with a slight smirk. "All that hate that Lily throws at me, is really her way of dealing with the clear sexual tension between us. In her own way, she wants me." He gave Charlotte a wink and leaned back from the bench, smiling with a satisfied gleam to his expression. "Quite badly too. It really only a matter of time before we end up together, it’s more a matter of when and how."

“The right push, in the right direction...by end-of-term feast 7th year, i see Lily and I as Hogwarts most talked about couple. Completely in love.”

Charlotte couldn't help it, she laughed out loud, harder than she had in far too long. In fact, it was so loud it brought most of the room's attention on her and Potter, who was glowing a slight pink colour at Charlotte's complete disregard for his explanation, which had _apparently_ been sincere.

Really, she couldn't think of anything more ridiculous than assuming Lily's hate towards Potter was sexual tension.

Charlotte knew that sexual tension to Lily, would be arguing about a book she liked with a gent, or discussing deeply a topic they both found passionate. Lily was an ambitious nerd and would never take the time out of her busy schedule to yell at a boy because of 'sexual tension'.

"Thank you very much Potter," Charlotte said, wiping under her eyes and flicking away the imaginary tears underneath. She could see that his embarrassed expression had turned into a scowl and it made her want to laugh all the more, but she managed to hold it back and simply grin brightly. "That was the funniest thing I have heard in a long, long, LONG time."

Charlotte slammed the table with her hand at the last 'long' for extra effect and held back her laughter when he jumped slightly from where he was sitting. She could see he was about to retort, likely something sarcastic or offensive considering the dark look he had on his face, so she stood from the bench and swung her legs out so she could stand.

"Love," Charlotte said in a condescending tone as she leant on the table with both her hands, enjoying the situation and his reaction far too much to be healthy. Lily wouldn't like how this was only making her egotistical nature grow slightly.

"Let me explain this very carefully," she said slowly, as though talking to a four-year-old. "Lily doesn't do 'sexual tension'. If she says she doesn't like you. She doesn't like you. If she says you have no chance. Well… put it this way Potter, you're probably more likely to turn the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team gay for you before getting my sister."

And with that, Charlotte leaned back from the table watching as Potter sputtered for words. He was seemingly, literally speechless.

She realised in triumph that she was more sober than not in that moment. Somehow laughing her stomach out managed to shake the after-effects of too much alcohol and not enough sleep. If only she could enjoy this quick cure for hangovers more often.

Curiously, her realisation of Potter's good features had not lessened as her sobriety increased. She, however, disregarded this thought, saving it to analyse at a time where she wasn't standing right in front of him.

 

"Really Potter, great conversation," Charlotte said, sending a wink his way, watching as he grew red with anger. "I said I wouldn't help you earlier, and I bloody well-meant it."

She headed out of the great hall faster than un-magically possible and directed herself towards the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully as a side effect of waking and eating early, there was still a fair few leaving the common room, so she would have at least 30-40 minutes of silence to attempt to finish the homework she only ever did last minute. Charlotte also had a free first, which would give her another hour to hide any evidence of her activities the night before.

Weaving her way through the Gryffindor's, who all seemed to be leaving the portrait entrance at the exact same time, she found herself entering the common room just as Lily descended the stairs from their shared dorm room.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she saw how perfectly perfect her sister looked, knowing that she likely didn't have to do a darn thing to look that good in the morning. She looked lively and determined as she met Charlotte with a wide grin, forcing her twin to attempt a similar smile in return.

"Morning Charlotte," Lily said stepping down off the last step, walking to stand at her sister's side so that they were both leaning against the wall near the portrait. "Got a free first?"

Lily knew Charlotte's timetable back to forth and could likely recite every class she had ever gone to. The only benefit of having a twin who snuck her nose into Charlotte's business far too often, is that Charlotte often forgot where she was meant to be going, and often enlisted the help of her twin, otherwise called; her personal organiser.

Charlotte gave a simple nod in answer and scrutinised Lily for a few seconds, noting that she didn't seem remotely tired or hungover from last night's festivities. Then again, Lily was doing her prefect rounds last night, and she refused to have any alcohol whatsoever even though they were both of age since January, likely another reason why she didn't like Potter who seemed to be getting drunk whenever the occasion arose.

Which was likely every week.

"James Potter approached me at breakfast," Charlotte said with a raised brow, turning to face her sister. She could see it instantly darkened her attitude, as her happy-go-lucky mood fell instantly, along with her cheery smile, replaced by narrowed eyes that gleamed dangerously and a scowl.

"That bastard," Lily seethed looking towards the entrance of the common room as though she was preparing to storm out and hex his brains to oblivion. _Sexual tension indeed._ The dark aura around her eventually faded with a deep and weary sigh that was unexpected from a girl like Lily, as she slumped against the wall, her shoulders hanging forward.

"Sorry Charlotte," she said with an apologetic smile, placing a hand on Charlotte's arm. "I'll tell him to lay off. No one should have to deal with that Idiot."

And by tell she likely meant yell, by lay off she likely meant to leave both herself and her twin alone otherwise she'd burn his balls off. Actually, that's more like what Charlotte would say, Lily would just yell at him to leave her alone. Now that Charlotte thought of it, perhaps if she did send a small incendio at a certain person's privates, then maybe they would back off…

"Nah don't worry about it," Charlotte said nonchalantly patting her hand which remained on Charlotte's arm. She truly hadn't minded the conversation with Potter. It had been the funniest and most annoying conversation she had ever had with someone who wasn't Lily. Though she didn't exactly have a lot of other people to talk to other than her sister. "Can you believe it was the first time we had ever spoken?"

Lily gave an uncharacteristic scoff and rolled her eyes in a very Charlotte like manner, enough so that Charlotte raised her brows slightly. Lily wrapped her long robes, which had been curled around her arm, on her shoulders and flicked her red hair out from underneath, still as flawless as ever. "Be very thankful, He is an absolute pain in my ass," She said through gritted teeth shaking her head.

Charlotte gave a snort of laughter and rolled her eyes, not at Lily, rather at Potter thinking that the way she speaks of him could tell tales of a hidden struggle of desire she had for him.

"I have no doubt," Charlotte said thoughtfully, realising if she was on the receiving end of Potter's endless attempts at wooing her she'd likely hate the boy as well. "Now go!" She said, nudging her sister with her hip towards the portrait hole. "Go eat some healthy food and learn."

"I plan to," Lily said with a laugh, nudging Charlotte back. As Lily came close to Charlotte however, an unreadable expression passed across her face that made Charlotte furrow her brows in confusion.

Lily's eyes widened and she took a step closer to her sister, standing in front of her. Slowly as though fearing what would happen, she leaned forward and sniffed the air around her sister.

"Charlotte!" she gasped taking a step back shaking her head. "Is that…firewhiskey!?"

Oh damn. This is exactly why Charlotte had attempted to remove all smells from her with that extra-long shower. She had even put on different robes, her old ones, which smelt less like alcohol. Somehow her brilliant twin managed to see through both attempts anyway.

Charlotte's smile disappeared and she shook her head strongly, the action almost robotic in its authenticity. "No."

"Damnit Charlotte!" Lily cried hitting Charlotte hard on the arm. Clearly, she hadn't believed her. "You know how I feel about you drinking!"

Yes, Charlotte knew very well how Lily felt. She told her every time she came in the vicinity of a bottle of whiskey, rum and butterbeer.

"Lily, honestly, I didn't drink anything alcohol. Just a butterbeer or two." Charlotte lied, rolling her eyes and softly rubbing the sensitive area her sister had managed to abuse. Lily may be very petite and her arms much smaller in diameter than her sister, but she could punch like an absolute beast. "I was celebrating," Charlotte explained.

"What could you possibly be celebrating Charlotte?" she asked impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground and crossing her arms in a very authorative 'I'm a prefect so answer me now' way. "Because I know damn well you were not celebrating Quidditch with the Gryffindor's Charlotte Amaryllis!"

Uh oh. Middle name used.

"Umm… I got second in my class for that potions exam," Charlotte said slowly, cautiously and with a laugh.

 

Her sister, however, didn't look impressed by her answer at all. Her lips were pursed and eyes narrowed so thinly that her usual bright green eyes appeared dismal. For minutes, the sisters stood there watching each other, Charlotte with amusement and annoyance and Lily with fear and suspicion. Lily had every right to act this way in her eyes, and Charlotte just felt like her sister was acting like her mum AGAIN.

"Lily, it's not like before," Charlotte said seriously, the humour clearing from her voice.

She knew why her sister feared her drinking habits. Ever since Charlotte had discovered fire whiskey, she had found a secret solace and pathetic friendship with the drink. At first it would just be a ¼ of a glass after studying to help her sleep better. When she felt lonely, which was often, she would drink a full glass. Then she would have several glasses and several more until she passed out.

It eventually became the only way she could get to sleep after studying all night and attempting to forget that hardly a single other person in Hogwarts other than her twin could give a rat's ass about her. Several drinks turned into several bottles until she wound up in the hospital wing, having the alcohol magically removed by the school nurse.

That's when dearest perfect Lily discovered her less than perfect twin had a drinking problem.

Not that Lily could ever understand considering she had more friends and followers than ever necessary. She would never understand what it is to be invisible behind a sister who is practically worshiped. To be second place in everything to the only other person that matters. To know that the one person who knew you best was also the person who withheld you from reaching your full potential. To have to confide all your deepest, darkest thoughts to yourself because there simply was no one else.

Ever since then, which was almost a year ago, she checked on Charlotte almost every night. Looked through her drawers, and confiscated any alcohol she found in the Gryffindor common room, just in case.

Charlotte had practically 0 privacy, for months. Her parents were furious and Petunia, their older sister, thought the whole ordeal was hilarious. So Charlotte cut back on drinking for several months, taking only a small amount here or there when she found herself a small moment of time away from her perfect sister and the eyes of the worried professors. However, like everything she did, the professors forgot about the incident and her, and Lily became too absorbed with their sixth year to watch Charlotte closely. So the drinking started again, at a lesser, safer level than earlier.

Lily watched Charlotte for several moments, most likely assessing the honesty in her statement and eventually sighed, something she apparently did often these days. She grabbed Charlotte by the arms and pulled her into a tight hug. At first Charlotte smiled softly, appreciating the affection she received from her sister, but when several moments passed by and she was still gripped tightly around the neck, which meant she had to lean down to meet her midget sister height, she coughed slightly.

"Uh Lily….?"

"Hmm?"

"Get off me." Lily laughed and softened her death grip around Charlotte until she could breathe properly again, then released her completely. Charlotte gave her a somewhat grateful smile which immediately dropped when Lily patted the top of her head like she was a little girl.

Charlotte swatted her hand away with a frown and placed her hands on her hips, pouting her lips dramatically.

"Lily you're only 40 minutes older than me, why do you treat me like I'm 5!" Charlotte whined stamping her foot on the carpeted floor in mock seriousness. She sounded very much like a five-year-old and Lily laughed, her cheery mood returning. Which had been Charlotte's hopes all along. It really did irritate her the way Lily treated her sometimes, but now wasn't exactly the time to approach that topic.

"Probably because you act like it Lottie dearest," She said with a wink waggling her shaped eyebrows effortlessly. Charlotte rolled her eyes at the nickname, knowing she only said it to get a reaction out of her.

With a laugh Charlotte shoved her twin towards the portrait watching as Lily mockingly waved at her.

Charlotte watched with a small smile as Lily stepped through the portrait hole and out towards the hallway, leaving her to the peaceful quiet of the empty common room that looked remarkably clean considering only last night all the upperclassman, excluding Slytherin's of course who lost the Quidditch game, had been lounging around the large space, music flowing through the room and alcohol seemingly in a never ending supply.

With a sigh she made her way to the dorm she shared with her sister, getting rid of the alcohol bottles which had thankfully rolled under her bed sometime during the night, meaning Lily wasn't aware of how much Charlotte had been drinking.

Charlotte sat down at their shared study table which, after several years of use, had carvings that Charlotte had charmed to never be removed, all over the front and sides. She pulled out some blank parchment, her potions textbook and Lily's essay which she had snagged from her bag before the Quidditch game yesterday, and began to finish the last few points of her essay with the assistance of her sister's work.

By the time she was done, breakfast was over, and it was halfway through her free class time. Really she should be studying, considering she hoped she would beat Lily in at least one of their classes this year, however, her beautiful bed began singing an unearthly tune that tugged the very strings of her heart, seemingly calling her name softly, building up a sleepiness inside her that she only ever felt when listening to Professor Slughorn rant on during his 'slug club' events, which occurred, and she went to, far too often.

"Can't exactly deny that request," Charlotte mumbled sleepily, falling face first onto her white pillow, her eyes drawing shut instantly, drowsiness overtaking her body. She fell into a blissful sleep that went on interrupted for several hours.

Several hours past her free period and into her class time.

"OH BLOODY HELL!"

 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter rating: K+

POVs: Charlotte Evans

Word Count: 3,453 words

Date Posted: 28/04/2018

 

**Chapter Two**

(~Charlotte Evans~)

Never in her life had Charlotte ran so fast out of the common room painting, disregarding her outward appearance so entirely, pushing past all students in her way towards her charms classroom. Whether or not she straightened her tie and retied her robes, it would still look like she'd gone and had a nap.

Charlotte had also never felt so bloody unfit in her life. When she arrived at the doorway she allowed herself several moments to simply catch her breath, knowing that if she burst into the room panting like a crazed dog, she would receive all sorts of unwanted attention.

Charlotte had managed to sleep through 3 of her classes after she had completed her essay that morning, and found herself desperately trying to attend her double Charms, knowing that her punishment for wagging would at least be lessened by attending one class. She could attempt to come up with an excuse for being so late, but Professor McGonagall, her transfiguration professor as well as head of house, would smell through her lie faster than she could tell it. So she would relent to receive her punishment as she no doubt deserved it.

With a quick flick of her wand and an quiet  _tempus_ , she thankfully sighed. Charlotte had managed to arrive outside her classroom with minutes to spare and could make her way into the classroom without reprimand. The wispy clock that had emanated from her wand flickered away without her say so, and when Charlotte attempted to get it back up again, her wand simply made an odd hissing sound.  _Bloody temperamental wand._

Pushing the door slightly, Charlotte peered into the classroom to find that all of the Ravenclaw and most Gryffindor sixth years were already standing around the classroom, chatting in small groups or sitting, furiously writing down the homework they had all been given days ago that Charlotte had, surprisingly, completed the night it had been given.

As quietly as possible, she managed to slink her way to the very back of the classroom, claiming the corner she found comfort in in most of her classes. From there, she had a generally good view of the entire classroom where she could see all the students, but they didn't notice her. It was both a perfect and rather painful realisation that this was her life. Hiding because she was used to being hidden, and observing from the outside because she got tired of trying to fit in.

"I said no more Potter!" Lily cried from the front of the classroom, sitting down at a table in the first row, her body completely turned away from Potter who was sitting on the chair next to her, seemingly attempting to desperately ask her something. She, however, wouldn't hear of it, as she kept giving him snarky remarks. The boy was either daft or genuinely in love with Lily because he really didn't understand the meaning of no.

"Bloody hell," Charlotte murmured, watching with a grimace at his pathetic attempts to woo her sister. How did he not understand by now that she didn't appreciate his slightly obsessive and creepy behaviour towards her? It just didn't seem natural the way he followed her around always vying for her attention, and Lily obviously saw this, otherwise she'd likely be putty in his hands like most other girls at Hogwarts.

He had on the same adorably pathetic expression he had used ruthlessly that morning on Charlotte, however it was apparently highly unsuccessful with Lily as she didn't even bat a single eyelash or lose a breath of air as Charlotte had. If she had to give him points for anything, it would be for his persistence. Even now he stood at her table talking to her as though she hadn't already outright refused him several times that day.

Apparently Charlotte wasn't the only one who thought so as girls around them, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor alike, sent shocked and almost... _angry_  looks towards Lily, which was definitely surprising considering everyone seemed to _love_ Lily Evans.

"It's the first time he's ever had to work to get a girl," a voice said from Charlotte's right, making her jump slightly in her seat. She turned and met the stormy eyes of a smug looking boy leaning against the table next to her. 

He had dark shaggy shoulder length hair that made him look like he rolled straight out of bed and fell into the classroom, though she knew from being in the same class as him since first year that his hair, like Potters, always seemed to be that messy. His mouth was quirked into a small smirk as he turned and watched as his friend was once again, let down by her sister. His cocky and over-confident demeanour rubbed Charlotte the wrong way, and the way he leaned casually against the table made her want to push him off it. 

She opted for questioning his comment instead.

"Is that why he's trying so hard?" Charlotte asked with only slight interest. She looked back to the boy rolling her eyes when he winked at her. He slumped from the table into the chair and turned so he was facing Charlotte completely.

Charlotte couldn't exactly fathom why he was suddenly taking an interest in her.

Once. Only _o_ _nce_  she had spoken to him, in their third year. He had asked her for a quill, as he had apparently forgotten his own. She told him, in all seriousness, to  _'piss off and get your own_.' She winced at the memory. Knowing he likely would have forgotten it by now only _slightly_ lessened her embarrassment at her bitchy attitude that day. That had been a particularly bad day for her, as she'd been sat on by no less than 3 students in different classes and during the evening meal.

Charlotte didn't exactly intend to take out her anger on the next person she spoke to, but she did and though even Lily didn't like the boy, she had pulled Charlotte aside to tell her that she had been extremely rude to someone who just wanted to borrow a quill. Ever the good citizen.

Charlotte was smart enough to know that she hadn't attracted the best looking male in the school because he suddenly thought she was pretty. No, she knew it definitely had something to do with the situation going on with his friend and her sister, because, to her ever increasing disappointment, no one every approached Charlotte because they wanted to talk to Charlotte,  _about_  Charlotte.

He still faced her whilst answering her question, giving all his attention to her for the moment.

"Probably," he said with a lazy shrug of his broad shoulders. "He does fancy her though, in his own _weird_ way."

"Weird…" She said slowly, turning away from the boy back towards her sister who was currently swatting away Potter's attempts to hold her hand. She appreciated that she wasn't the only one who thought Potter's obsession with her sister was beyond normal, however weird didn't seem to cut it. "I'd call it slightly more obsessive, leaning on perverse."

The boy threw his head back and barked out a loud laughter that had her startled then half-smiling at his carefree joy. It surprised _even her_ that he was seemingly so genuine, so human. It might sound conceited, but after she had been tucked away beneath Lily's shadow for so long, watching others, she had come to realise that boys like this were idolised at Hogwarts by both teachers and students. It was almost as weird as watching Potter flirt with Lily, watching him show a normal human reaction.

As he stopped laughing, shaking his head with a wide smile on his face, he leaned towards Charlotte, extending his arm and hand to her.

"Sirius," He said by way of introduction, winking as Charlotte held his hand in her own giving it a firm shake with a smirk of her own. Though just this morning she had been thinking of him as a man-whore, Charlotte was surprised to find her opinion of him changed in an instant. For all her years at school, she had assumed he was a prat, having the girls wrapped around his finger and charming his was out of every situation he got caught in.

No seriously,  _everything_.

Somehow Sirius Black managed to convince Professor Slughorn that, even though he was caught in the potions classroom as all the cauldrons had been transfigured into ugly little kneazles, with his wand out, he had actually been in the room reversing the transfiguration. Slughorn believed him and actually awarded points to Gryffindor for Sirius's ' _Initiative_ '.

That was only one instance; there have been many more situations where Sirius had found a way to either revert blame or remove it indefinitely. It wasn't exactly a wonder of how he did it, just the sight of him smirking made Charlottes cheeks alight in embarressment. A highly inappropriate and hateful reaction in her opinion.

"Charlotte," she said, raising a brow as he looked her up and down curiously.

"You don't look much like your sister" he mumbled still watching her closely, as though taking mental notes. "Or act like her."

_Oh bloody hell._ Why is it that people couldn't understand why Charlotte hated to be compared to her sister? Unlike Lily who likely got compliments on how pretty or smart she was, Charlotte usually got snuffed. Once she had received a comment which was neither positive nor negative.  _'Her hair is red, yours is blonde_ '. That was it, and she had never felt happier when her uncle had said it to her.

"Thank you for that piece of useful information _genius_ ," she bit sarcastically, leaning back in her chair and rolling her eyes. "Was it the blonde hair, blue eyes or my snarky, shitty attitude that gave it away?"

Sirius smiled widely and winked at her, making Charlotte roll her eyes _again_ , turning slightly so he couldn't see the slight blush that rose on her cheeks, though he no doubt was used to the reaction. He thankfully didn't go into details about Lily and Charlotte's differences. Whether he knew it was a sensitive topic didn't seem to matter, as she was appreciative none the less.

"I like you Char," Sirius said, resting his hands behind his head as he watched her with a cocky smile on his face. "You've got _spunk_."

"That has got to be one of the worst nicknames for Charlotte I have ever heard," She said incredulously, ignoring his compliment in favour for the odd nickname he gave her. Really, her heart had hammered dangerously at his statement. But if she thought about what he said, she would blush, and if she blushed he would see. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he could get the same reaction out of her that he elicited from other girls.

Honestly, it wasn't as though her panties were about to drop, she just wasn't used to all this bloody attention! 

"Char?" He asked, closing his eyes and shrugging his shoulders. "Dunno, just seemed to suit you honestly."

Charlotte scoffed and rolled her eyes, making one of Sirius' eyes peek open and watch her curious reaction. " _Char sounds like a name for a bloody prostitute_ ," she mumbled kicking her scuffed shoes against the foot of the table. Sputtering brought her attention to her right and she watched wide eyed as Sirius attempted to catch his breath through his shocked laughter.

Charlotte smiled widely and began laughing at his shocked expression.

"You know, you're not so bad," Charlotte said with a smile, watching as his shock disappeared in place of a devious smirk as he leaned forward towards her.

"Oh?" he asked, resting his chin on his hand, watching her smugly.

"Yeah, I always thought you were a bit of an insufferable prat," His smirk fell and she grinned at him, winking before continuing, looking forwards at the rest of the classroom.

"You're far more bearable than Potter."

"Aw, he's not so bad," Sirius said, defending his friend. They both watched the boy in question for a few moments. He, at that very second, chose to begin clutching his chest dramatically, falling to the floor near her sister's feet. Lily simply rolled her eyes and ignored his antics, opting to talk to her friend, Alice, who sat on her left. "Once you get to know him," Sirius amended with a wince, realising his friend looked every much an idiot in that moment.

"I'm sure," Charlotte said with a snort, rolling her eyes.

"You should accept his offer," Sirius said, all hints of gaiety gone

Ah there it is. What would the muggles say… Bingo?

Charlotte had been wondering the point to their conversation, no matter how much she was enjoying it. She should have known that Potter would have enlisted his womanising best friends help to make her help him. If not Sirius, then possibly Remus Lupin, who from what she knew, was one of the kindest  people you could meet. She doubted he would have asked Peter Pettigrew, the fourth member of their little 'boy band', as he was either deathly allergic to those with female reproductive organs, or simply scared to talk to girls.

It was actually rather disappointing to Charlotte, especially considering she had been enjoying talking to Sirius the past few minutes, only to find he had an agenda for the whole conversation. What annoyed her most was the warmth in her stomach towards his obvious care for his friend, enough so that he would go out of his way to talk to her. Warmness aside, she was still royally peeved.

"Look Sirius," She said facing him, all trace of a smile gone. "My sister does not like Potter. Romantically or otherwise. I don't understand what you or Potter think I can do to help, not that I want to, but what exactly do you expect of me?"

He was surprisingly quick to answer, making Charlotte wonder if Potter had drilled him to say exactly what he had.

"He wants you to tell him what she likes," Sirius said with an uncommitted shrug, looking at Charlotte with a small smile. "The best way to approach her, what interests she has, her favourite food etc. etc. Honestly the bloke is willing to change a whole lot if it means your sister will spare him a glance.'

Charlotte frowned deeply and shook her head. "Why would he do that?"

"Want to change?" Sirius guessed with a raised brow, no doubt confused at her reaction. "I dunno. I guess everyone changes eventually right? Well if it means that Evans… Sorry… Lily, will like him for it, then that's what he is prepared to do."

Inwardly she was groaning loudly and beating on the floor of her brain with imaginary fists. She couldn't fathom why someone would want to completely change who they are for another person, especially when they barely knew that other person. No matter how perfect Lily's appearance was, Charlotte thought that this was taking things too far.

"That's just sad," Charlotte said with a sigh, turning from Sirius to where Potter was. He had moved on from her sister and was now talking to Remus Lupin, both Sirius and Potter's best friend and her main academic competition other than Lily, though he likely didn't know it. Potter was talking exuberantly with big hand gestures and very weird facial expressions that made Remus chuckle softly as he listened to whatever Potter was saying closely.

"What makes you say that?" Sirius asked curiously. Charlotte didn't move her eyes away from Potter, even as she felt Sirius's gaze on her. She was completely focused on studying the boy who was willing to do so much for her sister's affection.

It was painful to Charlotte, his need for her attention. She understood it far too well. The desire to change who you are, in the hopes of finally being understood and cared for. Though Charlotte had felt that way to no particular person, rather everyone in general, she still felt a tug at her stomach as she observed him and the glances he cautiously sent towards her sister every few moments.

"Why would he want to change?" Charlotte said simply. "He seems like such a happy person, even if he is bordering on weird. Shouldn't he be looking for someone who will accept him as he is? Not someone who will only fancy him if he is a completely different person?" Charlotte turned back to Sirius who looked rather startled, as though he had never given the thought any merit. "Don't get me wrong, I know people change. I just always assumed it was for the better of the individual for themselves, not so someone else would like them."

Charlotte shook her head away from her thoughts and looked away from Sirius's stormy eyes that seemed to be pulling her into a trap of...honestly she wasn't so sure what, but she knew she certainly wasn't comfortable with it. Perhaps there was something under the surface of Sirius Black she'd yet to see. Perhaps, he was more than the conceited, obnoxious git he appeared to be. 

"Maybe I'm being silly, or over analysing things," Charlotte said with a sigh. "I have a tendency to do that."

"No, I understand what you're saying. It worries me too, I've just never been able to put it into words," He admitted rather sheepishly, running a hand through his wavy hair. "I just want… whatever makes him happy."

Charlotte studied the open honesty and obvious care on Sirius's face as he looked at his friend. She longed for someone to feel that way about her, for someone to care enough as Sirius obviously did for Potter. What she felt in that moment couldn't be described as jealousy or even envy. It was something much rawer and more desperate. Enough that it hurt her to see the way Sirius was watching Potter. Her chest was heavy and she felt her eyes sheen over.

Distantly she wondered if Sirius was doing this on purpose, using the fact that she had no friends against her by showing the brotherly love he had for his friend. She ignored the feeling for the moment, knowing if she found out that was the case, she would just kill him. Okay maybe not  _kill_ him. Seriously maim.

"Damnit," She muttered her teeth gritted tightly together and her eyes shut, avoiding Sirius's curious gaze at her obvious pained expression. "I'll think about it."

She peeked an eyelid open and saw his face broken in a wide smile that lit up his stormy eyes to new hues. His mouth was formed into a genuine grin showing a row of straight white teeth, highlighting the laugh lines gathered around his eyes which somehow made him look endearing. Charlotte sighed and slumped forward slightly but sat completely straight the next moment when she felt a hand covering her own.

Looking down, she looked on in amazement as Sirius covered her hand which had been on the table, with his own larger one. Instantly warmth filled her at his unnecessary and painful affection. If people kept doing and saying nice things to her, then she would begin to become accustomed, and that was _never_ a good thing for someone who had no friends.

Charlotte met his eyes again when his hand slipped from her own and was relieved to find he was smiling softly, no trace of a smug or cocky smirk at her reaction. The action seemed to be genuinely kind and she felt her cheeks heat as his hand brushed hers.

"You're cute when you blush," he said with a wink, turning away as Professor Flitwick entered the room and the students began filing into the seats.

And just like that, he had somehow ruined an entirely genuine and innocent conversation with his incessant need to flirt. One minute he proved he was more than the ladies man everyone proclaimed he was, showing genuine care and sharing a somewhat witty conversation, the next he gave her a one liner that couldn't possibly pick up a girl even if she was already hanging around his shoulders.

She fell wondrously, stupidly and unknowingly into his trap of smirks, smiles and alluring grins, finding herself caring about Potter who that morning, she had publicly rebuked.

_'_ _This was turning out to be quite a day,'_  Charlotte thought rubbing her forehead when she felt the impending doom of a headache, caused by the ridiculous boy sitting next to her who, she had a feeling, she would be seeing quite a bit more of in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter rating: T

POVs: Charlotte Evans

Word Count: 5,475 words

Date Posted: 28/04/2018

 

**Chapter Three**

**(~Charlotte Evans~)**

 

Only the faint pattering of socked feet could be heard throughout the hallway outside the library and even that wasn't cause for much distress. It could easily be misconstrued for the whispering of wind, at least that's what Charlotte hoped.

Her wand was out and at the ready, tucked under the folds of her long woollen robes as she peered down the passageway near her expected destination. Her heart was hammering in her chest and an unnecessary amount of adrenaline was pumping through her body at her current disregard for school rules. That always seemed rather unfair to Charlotte, how her body could be excited for something she shouldn't be doing.

She wanted to run towards the library doors and swing them open with a slam, dancing around in the doorway. Why, she couldn't tell you, as it would completely destroy the point of her going late at night and attempting to be quiet. She guessed it to be the adrenaline which made her want to act erratically.

Slyly, she slipped through the shadows towards the library, and began lifting the locking spells on the door. Surprisingly there was only three, so it took her no longer than a minute for the door to safely open without any altercation.

Her eyes swept over the room quickly, once deducing she was alone, she resealed the library doors and locked the door behind her, knowing if a professor or prefect came and saw the locking charms removed, they would immediately assume a student or worse had entered the library.

For weeks now she had been coming to the library late at night, every moment she could spare, whether it was to study for exams or study strange and wondrous magic that she had never experienced. Tonight however, she was hoping to find a book she had been looking for since she first began her treks to the library in the middle of night.

As she loosened her robes slightly, which hung over her regular pants and singlet pyjamas, she walked slowly towards the back of the library. Her fingers travelled along numerous old and new binders as she walked past, breathing a content sigh. Unlike Lily who only read for educational purpose, Charlotte had a passion for reading and learning as much as possible from books. No matter what it was, if it interested her, then she learnt it. Lately her curiosity had brought her past the gates of the restricted section to the more, interesting forms of reading.

Just as she had before, she let her fingers glide across the bindings as she searched for the name of the book she was searching for. Charlotte had to bite her lip in concentration when she realised her mind kept drifting to other books which caught her eye, making a silent promise she would get to them eventually.

Just as she thought the book was once again, borrowed by another, she let out a soft excited squeal seeing the title she had searched for, for weeks. It was brown, tattered, and sat high on a shelf, looking all together insignificant and unworthy of being read. The binding was mostly broken, and the words seemed to jumble on its side, no doubt being many years old.

Charlotte leaned up to get the book, but surprisingly wasn't tall enough to get it. Considering she was just under 6ft, it felt as though someone had purposely placed the one book she wanted on the highest shelf in the _damn_ library.

Her fingers glided across the edges of the brown book, and she let out a frustrated grunt. It shouldn't be this hard to grab a bloody book. Charlotte turned and looked around the restricted section, finding a stool not 2 feet away, bringing it just under the bookcase she was standing at and stepping up so she was eye level with the book. She easily pulled the book out and held it lovingly within her hands, simply staring at the front cover for a few moments.

Charlotte stepped down from the stool and opened the book carefully reading the first page with a wide smile.

"Finally!" Charlotte whispered, reading exactly as she hoped she would find within the book.

"Charlotte?" A voice asked from the shadow of the night startling her to the point where she madly threw the delicate book in front of her and jumped back, hitting her head against the bookshelf with an echoed _thunk_.

"Ow," she groaned holding her head with her hand and frowning at the bookcase as though it had intentionally hurt her.

Charlotte's eyes darted around the room looking for her small brown book, and begrudgingly found it at the feet of the person who had called her name. She couldn't see who it was as they were still in darkness, but she had heard the voice, and knew enough to know it was definitely male.

He slowly stepped out of the shadow, and Charlotte was surprised to find herself staring wide eyed at James Potter who was currently reaching for the book carelessly thrown on the floor. Alarm bells rang in Charlotte's mind but they softened with no small amount of relief when Potter held the book out slightly as though to give it to her.

She stepped forward to grab it, but instead felt her hand pass through thin air as he retracted the book reading the title with wide alarmed eyes.

"Give it here, lover boy," she hissed jumping forward in an attempt to grab the book. He simply held the book higher out of her reach and continued to look at the title with wide eyes.

His gaze switched between the small book in his hand towards Charlotte then back once more enough times that she felt dizzy.

Damnit _damnit damnit_.

"Animagus?" He whisper-yelled at Charlotte, a mixed expression of horror and shock on his face. She couldn't fathom why the book would cause a reaction like this. Sure, she was dabbling in magic she had no right, nor particular legal permission, to learn, but it wasn't exactly enough to _horrify_ someone.

He looked like she had just personally offended his favourite quidditch team. He was a bit of a sports nut, this one. 

"Err," she stuttered, utterly unsure of how to get her out of this unfortunate and annoying situation. "I was just... _Uh_..."

She couldn't exactly lie to him and say it was just sitting on the table, he had managed to creep up on her as she had excitedly pulled it from the shelf. She could always be honest and say she was interested in reading the book for a school project. But, he was in all of her classes.

 _Godric_ , all these weeks of hard work could be for nothing because of the idiot standing before her.

She had been fascinated with Animagi since her very first transfiguration lesson. She could still remember staring wide eyed as the small tabby cat transformed into Professor McGonagall. When she had found out that there was little to no chance of being allowed to become an Animagi, at least not for many many years, her only conclusion had been that she'd simply need to do it in secret. However attempting to turn yourself into bloody animal when you had no idea of how to do it was rather difficult. Hence the animagus book she had tried to 'borrow' the last few weeks

Considering even attempting to become an animagus was highly dangerous, possibly deadly at her age, she wanted to have as much information she could get. Having potter turn up just as she had caught her hands on the one thing that could possibly help her was just _bloody brilliant._ What she really needed was the idiot, who wanted her help to date her sister, to know about her illegal affairs.

One word to another student or a single professor and her hopes of becoming an animagus would be  _reducto_ 'd to naught.

"DAMNIT," she yelled loudly, kicking the bookcase next to her, watching as it shook slightly with her weak attempt at abuse.

"Oi!" Potter hissed, grabbing onto her arm before she started beating away at the books in the shelves. "Unless you want to get caught in the restricted section at this time of night with this book, i highly suggest you lower your voice." He waved the book in the air, brows raised expectantly. 

She pulled her arm from his grip and sighed. How was it that James _bloody_ Potter was suddenly her voice of reason. Charlotte nodded her head slightly to show she wasn't going to go around destroying any of the books and instead slumped down into a nearby seat.

"Why do you have this?" Potter asked holding up the small brown book in his hand. His expression was thankfully merely curious and all traces of horror that had been on display not moments ago had disappeared. It made Charlotte somewhat less hesitant to answer, though not exactly enough to trust him with the truth.

  
"My answer depends on whether you intend on blabbering it to anyone," Charlotte said with a sigh, watching as he considered her for a few moments, sceptic and likely suspicious.

Potter was leaning on the bookshelf opposite her, the brown book in one hand and the other cupping his chin in thought. He was still in his school robes and his hair was as messy as it had been the other day when he had approached her during breakfast. She hadn't exactly forgotten about their conversation concerning her sister, she was however surprised he had remembered _her_.

Not many people remembered her name after just one conversation and, pathetically enough, she felt touched that he had. Though, considering their conversation had been about Lily, the feeling was short lived.

"I won't," Potter said eventually, standing straighter against the bookcase. He didn't exactly appear to be lying, then again she couldn't be sure without Veritaserum. She had no reason to trust him, and several not to. For one, James Potter and his gang of merry men were known for causing trouble and mischief around the school, he could also use the knowledge to his advantage by blackmailing her to help him with Lily. She saw no positive advantage to telling him, other than the slim to none possibility that he wouldn't tell anyone and give her the book back, which is really all she wanted.

"I see no reason to trust you," she pointed out with a brow raised, crossing her arms on her chest. "Can you not just give me the book and pretend you never saw me?"

Fat chance of that happening, but it was worth a shot to at least ask.

"Now why would i want to do that, you've made me all curious," He said with an infuriating smirk. "Besides, ill give you the book back when you tell me why you have it."

Charlotte looked at him with unveiled distrust and apprehension. Potter rolled his eyes and lifted his right hand slightly in the air.

"I solemnly swear." He said it as though it held all the weight of the world in that one promise. Charlotte rolled her eyes and stood up from the chair.

"Sorry _mate_ , but your solemn swearing doesn't mean much to me," His brows furrowed at her complete lack of confidence in such a statement, though Charlotte didn't understand what he expected of her. Did he really think that saying he would 'solemnly swear' not to tell anyone she would just ultimately believe him.

"You've got some serious trust issues."

"And you have glasses. Can i have my book now?"

"I already said i would give you the book once you tell me why you have it." Potter sighed in exasperation as Charlotte rolled her eyes again. "I may seem like an annoying prat, but i'm a _loyal_  annoying prat. I don't break my promises. Ever."

Charlotte watched the furrow of his brows and curiosity in his eyes with calculating eyes. For some reason he honestly didn't seem to be lying. She just couldn't fathom why he wanted to know so bad. She could possibly understand his curiosity if she were Lily, he seemed to want to know anything and everything about her sister, but Charlotte and Potter weren't even friends. His curiosity genuinely didn't make sense.

"Why do you want to know so bad" She asked slowly, deciding that whether or not she told him would be dependent on his answer.

"Lets just say i know a little about the topic you seem to want to know about so badly." His expression hadn't changed since earlier and Charlotte accepted that he wasn't lying. If he was telling the truth, it occurred to Charlotte that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he knew why she had the book.

"I want to become an Animagus," She said in a small voice, avoiding his eyes which seemed to burn through her averted gaze anyway. "I've been trying to find out how for months, but its a lot harder than i thought it would be. I knew the school had this book, but it had been borrowed out for the past few weeks, someone finally returned it."

Slowly as though hesitant of what she would do, Potter lowered the book till it was in front of Charlotte. She took the book in her hands, still not meeting his eyes, and looked at the brown book with a defeated sigh.

"I was hoping it... the book, would tell me how to do it," she admitted, shaking her head slowly, realising how ridiculous she sounded to herself.

Potter was surprisingly quiet for several moments and Charlotte eventually looked up to meet his clear blue eyes. He seemed to be staring at Charlotte in frustration, looking as though he was trying to decide something when he didn't move his gaze. The corner of his mouth kept twitching and every few seconds he shook his head slightly, as though pushing away a thought.

In Charlotte's eyes, he was likely deciding whether or not to tell a teacher about her fascination with the topic. If he did, she likely wouldn't be able to murmur the word Animagus without the ministry being contacted. Eventually Potter did look away, but it was only for a few seconds, and when he fixed his eyes back on hers, they were startlingly serious.

"I'll make you a deal," he said in a low voice, taking a step closer towards Charlotte.  _I knew it,_ Charlotte thought. He's going to _bloody_ blackmail her into helping him now. _Well thats what happens when you hand out your trust like its nothing,_ Charlotte, _you get ripped off and burned out._

"I'll help you become an Animagi, if you help me with Lily." Charlotte's mouth flopped open and she stood gaping at him. If he was saying exactly what she thought he was saying then that meant that he… that he…

"You'r… you ar… you'r-"

"Yes," Potter answered with a laugh, apparently finding her overwhelming shock to be a good source of amusement. "I'm an Animagi myself, though id appreciate you didn't disclose that information with anyone, considering i'm unregistered and id rather not end up in Azkaban at the ripe age of 17."

Had Charlotte not been in a state of shock which rendered her immobilised somewhat similar to  _petrificus totalus_ , she likely would have laughed or at least smirked at his frank honesty. Though all she could do was continue to stand in front of him, mouth hanging open and her eyes wide in a mixture of excitement and awe.

Potter snapped his fingers in front of her face and instantly the spell was broken. She skittishly leaned heavily on one leg and then the other, her lips barely containing a nervous smile. 

"What's your form?!" she whispered eagerly. Though the question could be considered somewhat personal, therefore inappropriate to ask, she couldn't exactly help it. The only Animagus she had seen was Professor McGonagall who had outright refused to discuss anything on animagus with her after she had seen how keen Charlotte was to learn about the topic.

Potter laughed quietly to himself as he watched Charlotte practically burst from impatience as she waited for him to answer her question with anticipation.

"Do we have a deal?" He asked with a wolfish smirk which didn't exactly hide his own amusement at her sudden change of mood.

As Charlotte had stepped forward slightly, she could now easily see every fleck and pattern of his eyes. She found her grin falling from her lips, the longer she stared into his eyes, his own smirk falling.

Though his eyes had appeared to be a bright and mischievous blue just the other morning and only moments ago, now, as she stood only a foot away, she realised they were instead Hazel. Just around his iris, a caramel brown seemed to leak out of its own accord, ringing around the black and contrasting with the blue in a way that could only be described as magic.

They were not as bright as Lily's forest green eyes, or as ceaseless as Sirius's storm, but they had their own spectacular distinctive aspect that was fascinating. She also knew that the longer she stared into his eyes, the more she _wanted_ to trust him. Lily had told her that he was a womaniser, prankster, troublemaker, rude, loud, obnoxious and completely,  _utterly_  up himself. It wasn't exactly a list of endearing qualities for a lasting friendship or 'partnership' as he was suggesting.

But, she almost couldn't help it. She trusted his eyes. 

"So let me get this straight," Charlotte said thoughtfully, his brow raising curiously. "You'll instruct me on how to become an animagus?"

"Yes, and in return, you help me get a date with your lovely sister. Possibly even help me with the date. Depending on how that goes, that can be the end of the agreement," He said with a small shrug. For someone who just revealed a secret that could in all truthfulness, land him in Azkaban, he was acting rather nonchalant.

"So, until i become an animagus," Charlotte said pointing at herself then Potter. "And you have a successful date with my _dearest_ twin, neither can back out on the agreement?"

He'd taken to leaning against a bookcase, watching her carefully through their more... serious conversation. He stepped forward a bit and shrugged his shoulders, signalling his assent.

"Seems only right," he agreed shaking his head in the affirmative slowly. He held his hand out in front of him and waited for Charlotte to reluctantly shake it.

"So whats your form?" Charlotte asked again with a wide smile, eliciting a laugh from him who dropped her hand, leaning back against the bookcase once more. He crossed his arms on his chest as he looked at Charlotte, seemingly considering her. 

"You'll see when i show you love," he answered with a wink, sending a heated blaze towards Charlotte's cheeks. That _wasn't_  exactly the answer she was hoping for, knowing he likely wouldn't show her for quite some time.

"You're a tease James Potter," Charlotte mumbled, unable to help the small pout of her lips. She watched as his smirk grew wider across his face.

"Don't i know it," He winked again and Charlotte snorted, rolling her eyes at his egotistical nature. He really had no chance of Lily fancying him acting like this. He'd be damn lucky to get a conversation with her sister which didn't end in her yelling or ignoring him.

"And a bloody idiot," Charlotte said, repeating what she had called him the other morning at his suggestion. Potter's smug expression morphed into a somewhat sad puppy frown as he pouted his lips. Unlike the first time he used this tactic on her, she simply smirked.

"So how is this going to work?" Charlotte asked, moving to sit back in the wooden chair she often used for her secret study sessions during the night. The table and chair were in the farthest corner of the library meaning it was hard to see from the front, but allowed a perfect view of the library, enabling her to make a quick escape if necessary.

It also gave her the perfect angle to scrutinise Potter as he leaned casually against the bookcase. It was rather unsettling how unconcerned he seemed. They were in the bloody restricted section of the library in the late hours of the night discussing disobeying not only school rules, but rules set by the _Ministry for Magic_ that have been around for hundreds of years. Just the thought of what she was planning to do made her heart quicken and dance erratically in her chest. Potter acted as though this was a normal daily occurrence for him.  

"Well for one," Potter said, his head back resting on the books behind him, his eyes close. He had a slight frown on his face and looked to be in deep concentration. "You can't tell Lily."

Charlotte laughed at his statement but stopped when she realised he had opened his eyes and he was staring at her with an all too serious gaze.

"Believe me Potter, Lily finding out that you're helping me become an Animagus would be _nothing_ compared to her finding out that i'm helping you." Charlotte _shuddered_ at the thought of Lily ever finding out about their agreement. She would likely be beyond furious and either hate Charlotte or avoid her for the rest of their lives. It would be seen as the greatest of betrayals. It would be bad enough with a gent she might actually  _like_ but Potter...Charlotte shuddered again. 

"True," Potter said, his eyes widening slightly as though they had been thinking similar thoughts.

"Every second Tuesday we work on you and Lily, and Thursday we work on my Animagus… How's that sound?" Charlotte asked hopefully. Potter seemed to consider his options, eventually nodding his head with a sigh.

"Yeah alright. But it would have to be late enough that Lily wouldn't see us, and definitely after Quidditch."He was starting to pace in the small space between them, at a speed that was slowly making Charlotte feel dizzy. "We'd have to change the dates when Seventh year starts. Quidditch practise will be on 3 nights." He suddenly stopped and pointed his index finger at her with a frown. "You can't tell any of your friends."

Charlotte gave a very un-lady-like snort and rolled her eyes, dragging her feet on top of the table, her black canvas shoes scuffing across the smooth surface.

"Won't be a problem. I don't have anyone to tell," She said honestly, shrugging her shoulders. "Lily is really my only friend."

"Really?" He asked confused. Charlotte's eyes narrowed into a glare the longer he considered this. "You don't have friends?"

Charlotte ignored his question, knowing it would bring about a whole lot of personal junk she wasn't ready, and likely never would be, to share. Instead she stood up from her seated position, pointing her finger the same way he did.

"How is that fair anyway, your friend Sirius knows." Charlotte watched as he rolled his eyes and shrugged as though she was being dramatic. She wasn't being  _dramatic._ If there was a bloody condition on her, he'd better bloody believe it applied to him as well.

"He wouldn't tell anyone. Marauders code."

Marauders code? Charlotte scrunched up her face and crossed her arms on her chest. "What the hell is that? Some kind of cult?" In fact she had heard that word before. Marauder, that is. _Can't be sure where._

He threw his head back and laughed, similar to how Sirius laughed, yet softer. Sirius's laugh came out in barks, where's Potter's laugh was warm and infectious. Warm enough apparently that it made her smile, a small one that was really only the tugging of the corner of her lips.

"No it's not a cult," He said with a wide smile. "Maybe I'll tell you one day, after you're an animagus."

Charlotte harrumphed and turned away, not willing to trust his friend just because of some weird club promise. 

"Whatever," she mumbled. "If he tells anyone, I'll make sure Lily never looks twice at you."

He seemed to take her words seriously because his eyes widened and he nodded frantically. Charlotte would never actually do that, but if Lily found out about their deal, it wouldn't matter what she told her, she likely wouldn't go near Potter after that. Angry at him for helping Charlotte in something illegal, likely thinking he was tainting her somehow, and infuriated with Charlotte for telling Potter anything about Lily. Both he and Charlotte would be in a world of hell if Lily found out. 

"Hey Evans?" Potter asked.

" _Ugh_ ," Charlotte instantly screwed up her face in disgusted and shuddered. "Please don't call me that."

It was bad enough that people called Lily _Evans._  Then again, she had never really seemed to mind. Charlotte however, found it quite disagreeable to be called by her muggle last name. Slightly hypocritical considering she was a muggle born, but it was mainly because she hated being called by the same name as her darling perfect sister. She liked to think that they could at least be called different names, even if she was forever stuck in Lily's shadow.

"Uhh... What do I call you then?" 

"How bout my first name genius."  Charlotte said with a roll of her eyes. "If that's too hard for you, you can call me Lottie. Just not around Lily though. She doesn't need a boost to her ego."

He was clearly confused why calling Charlotte by a nickname would boost her sisters ego, but he apparently brushed it off, because he was smiling brightly and his eyebrows were raised.

"Well then _Lottie,_ we'll start next Tuesday.' She rolled her eyes at his dramatic use of her name and nodded her head.

"Sounds good Potter."

Charlotte picked up the Animagus book that had been sitting on the table, and put it in the bag she had hidden under her robes at her hip. Excitement bubbling at the thought of being able to read it finally, as well as having a practical tutor. Even if it was Potter.

"Shouldn't you call me something other than Potter then?" He asked as they both walked quietly towards the library door.

Charlotte shrugged and looked at him. He was only an inch or two taller than her, so she could easily meet his gaze without either of them craning their heads. A preferable change to when she spoke with Lily, who she'd always needed to look down to. 

She hadn't exactly thought to call him anything other than Potter. Seeing as she had known him the past 6 years from the complaining she had received from her sister, she had always thought of him as Potter, as Lily apparently refused to call him James. Even Charlotte had to admit that it would be weird if she started calling him James when she had thought of him as Potter for far too long. James just seemed too… _personal_.

"Okay." Charlotte's smile turned into a smirk as she leaned forward slightly. "Jamesey."His face scrunched up in disgust, similar to how she had not moments ago and she laughed loudly at his reaction.

Footsteps just outside the door made her breath hitch, but it was the hand pressed against her mouth that stopped her laughter completely. He had heard the noise before Charlotte and had stepped slightly behind her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to cover her mouth with his hand. Not only that, he found it necessary to step right behind her. 

Unnecessary and infuriating tingles crept up her arm nearby where he was touching her. Charlotte tapped lightly on his arm so he would know she wouldn't make anymore noise. She turned slightly to look at him, his brows were raised in question and she nodded her head. His hand slowly dropped and his arm unwrapped from around Charlotte. Thank _Godric_ for nighttime and darkness, for in that moment, she was as red as currant rum.

They waited in silence until no more noises could be heart, and wordlessly slipped out of the library and walked silently to the Gryffindor common room. Charlotte had been peeking glances up at him the entire time, but he didn't seem to be at all fazed. Of course only she would react like that to such close contact. If the rumours were true, he likely was used to more...intimate contact.

Thankfully, they arrived at Gryffindor tower before her thoughts took a disturbing turn. She truly did not need to know or think about Potter and his intimate  _relations._

Once they were safely inside the portrait, who Potter managed to convince that he and Charlotte were actually doing prefect rounds in place of the current 6th years as they had a bad case of the flue. He truly was charming when he wanted to be. Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief and smiled when Potter did the same.

So...Jamesey," she said with a wink laughing as he groaned loudly, slumping on the lounge near the fireplace.

"That's not exactly what I meant when I said you didn't have to call me potter." He said with a laugh.

'Well, well, well what do we have here?" Charlotte turned, but she couldn't see who was speaking. She only knew it was a voice coming down the stairs from the boys dorms. "Night time rendezvous with Lily's sister. How interesting James."

Sirius Black, not exactly the person she wanted to see after his manipulative coercion in charms class.

"Oh shove off padfoot," Potter said with a laugh, sitting up on the lounge so he could see Sirius walk into the room. Charlotte rolled her eyes at his typical disheveled state, but paused mid role as she noticed the robe which barely wrapped around his naked chest. She coughed awkwardly and averted her eyes from his toned chest. Thankfully, neither boy realising her innocent reaction.

"Hello love," Sirius said with a wink in Charlotte's direction as he slumped in the chair across from Potter, an uncomfortably attractive smirk fixed on her.

"Sirius," she said with a nod of her head, averting her eyes from his upper body onto just about anything else in the room. 

"So what were you two doing this late at night, with only each other as company?" he asked waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Charlotte sighed and shook her head. Sirius Black needed a crash course on social etiquette. Considering Charlotte's social life was dismal, or rather non existent, and she still knew that it was rather rude to be that suggestive to someone you barely knew, proved that Sirius was either ignorant or generally inappropriate.

"Yes...Well I'm off to bed." Charlotte said with a fake smile ignoring Sirius's question, walking towards the girls staircase.

"Night Charlotte!" Potter said as she walked towards the stairs. She paused, and turned around. The both of them were watching her from where they sat in front of the fire, curious of her reaction maybe? She gave a little wave and hurried up enough steps that she knew she would be hidden, then leaned against the stone staircase within hearing range. 

"Good one you  _prat_. Scared her off, didn't you. Why must you  _always_ flirt with them?" Charlotte cringed, unsure if Potter was being protective or if he had hoped to get more out of her tonight. She supposed it didn't matter either way. If it stoped Sirius from being suggestive, she didn't mind it. 

"Sorry." _And it actually sounded like he was._ "How'd it go?"

"She agreed on certain… terms."

"What _terms_ prongs?"

"Nothing you have to worry about for the moment padfoot."

Charlotte heard footsteps come her way and she curse, darting up the staircase. Though there were two separate staircases, they would have likely been able to see her if she hadn't moved. Listening in on their conversation wasn't exactly a good way to begin their so called 'partnership'.

She managed to sneak her way into her and Lily's bedroom without waking Lily up, which was a feat in of itself. Her four poster bed looked horribly inviting and she found herself barely taking the time to get dressed before slipping under her warm covers.

For the next hour she puzzled over the deal she has made. No, it hadn't been wise to accept Potter's help, even if it did bring about her Animagus change faster. The last thing she needed was a complication in her messy life.

 _Yes_ , she thought.  _Thats all James Potter seemed to be. A messy haired, hazel eyed impossibly attractive complication._


	4. Chapter 4

POVs: Charlotte Evans

Word Count: 6,301 words

Date posted: 15/05/2018

**Chapter Four**

**(~Charlotte Evans~)**

 

 _"Looooottie,_ " Lily whispered in a sing song voice, attracting only a fraction of her sister's attention from across the Gryffindor table. They had been sitting together for the past hour and Lily was in a constant battle for Charlotte's attention between her and a window on the far side of the room which for some reason was positively fascinating to Charlotte. "Charlotte?"

Charlotte knew she was horribly distracted, she partially didn't care. Whether or not she had more important things to think about, the conversation Lily had been attempting to drag her into wasn't at all interesting. She didn't exactly care that so and so said something about her and him at the prefect meeting the other night. Lily was clearly grasping for straws attempting to make a conversation that would somewhat interest her, because Lily was no gossip.

Charlotte was currently analysing the first few pages of 'The dangers of Animagi and what to avoid.' So far the book had been so analytically complex that one page took an entire night to fully understand. Even when she understood what the page meant, it felt as though she had to decode every sentence. One of the first warnings had been, in the simplest form she could translate it, 'At no point should you ever experiment with any transfiguration magic without a comprehensive understanding of the abhorrent consequences of failure.'

That was where she had to pause and evaluate why she wanted to attempt magic which was so advanced and dangerous that they had a book on what to _not do_. There was no denying that it wasn't exactly useful magic. Unless you were in hiding, it was really only an interesting form of magic. Charlotte wanted to become an Animagus because she was fascinated with the magic behind the transfiguration. The implications that you turn into an animal which represents not only you, but a physical representation of you magic. Whether or not the magic was helpful to her, it was powerful and alluring, and she would learn it one way or another.

Its just overly unfortunate she needed _help_ to do it.

"Hmm," Charlotte mumbled thoughtfully with her head slumped in the arm leaning against the table. She had run through the conversation she'd had with Potter many _many_ times, each time regretting her deal more and more. She was obviously aware how much easier the process would be if she had someone with her to guide her in the right direction, however, she didn't trust Potter, and the fact that she had to go behind Lily's back made her all the more uncomfortable with her decision.

"CHARLOTTE!" Lilly cried slamming her hands on the table. The fork Charlotte had been holding halfway in between her plate and mouth dropped with a loud clap onto her plate as she jumped in her seat.

"What? What!"Charlotte yelled, grabbing onto her wand at her hip. When she looked at Lily, who seemed not alarmed or worried, rather just annoyed, she put her wand back with a begrudging sigh. 'Bloody hell woman. What are you screaming about?"

Lily shot her an incredulous look and pushed her empty dinner plate away, folding her hands on the table. Charlotte rolled her eyes, knowing it was a sign that she was about to get a ' _Lily scolding_ '.

"Charlotte I've been talking to a brick wall the last 20 minutes," She said with a frown.

"I'd like to think I'm slightly better looking than a brick wall," Charlotte mumbled, picking up her fork again, moving around the pastry on her plate with an uninterested sigh.

"What's going on with you?" Lily asked, a worried looking frown deepening.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte asked, a brow raised. "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine."

She was generally fine. Perhaps she hadn't slept properly since she had gotten the book, and has been slightly wary of running into Potter whenever she left her bedroom. Maybe she was also behind on her studies and was anxious most of the time that her place in class was dropping. Other than all that rubbish, she was rather dandy.

Charlotte also had the expectant fear that at any moment a teacher would take her to the headmaster's office where she would be suspended or expelled for attempting to become an Animagus.

Charlotte's eyes drifted off of Lily again as she thought of what her parents would say to her if she ever got in that much trouble. Petunia would likely think it was hilarious and stick her overly large nose in the air, pointing out that she was a freak and didn't belong anywhere. Ugh, and she would have to go to a muggle school! Can you imagine the horror!

"Hey!" Lily yelled, snapping her fingers in front of Charlotte's face as her eyes snapped back on to Lily's. "There you go, again!"

"What?" Charlotte asked dumbly, shrugging her shoulders. Her nonchalant answer obviously wasn't enough for Lily because she was fixed with another hard stare, Lily's red brows lowering further down her forehead.

"You're always drifting off, your never paying attention to anything," Lily said with an exasperated sigh. Charlotte just rolled her eyes again, muttering to herself that she wouldn't have trouble paying attention if they were discussing something of _importance_. "Outside of class and meals I've barely seen you!"

Lily had likely not seen Charlotte the last few days because whenever she had a break during the day, she would return to their dorm to sleep. Whenever classes were over, she would sit in her alcove near the courtyard reading her book and writing her interpretations down.

For Charlotte it had been a nice change, to not be glued to her sister's side all the time. However it seemed to just made Lily suspicious.

"I've been... busy?" Charlotte said with a wince, noticing rather too late that it had been more a question than statement. It wasn't a lie. Charlotte was busy. She simply had no intention to actually _tell_  Lily what she was so busy with.

"Busy with what Charlotte?" Lily implored leaning further across the table as Charlotte moved back. "Don't tell me homework, I know that homework comes easy enough to you, so what is it."

Well actually homework doesn't come easy to Charlotte at all, but obviously her brilliant perfect sister wouldn't realise that. She may do all her homework and get just as good marks as Lily, but she worked damn hard to get them.

"Lily it's nothing, i;m fine." Charlotte said with a sigh, regretting that she had sat with her sister for dinner at all. Honestly she had thought it would make Lily stop asking if she was okay if she sat with her, but if anything she looked more suspicious.

"What's the book you've been reading?"

Charlotte sputtered and coughed on the phlegm that managed to lodge itself in her airways. It took her a few moments to find the ability to breath normally again as she asked, _'Pardon?'_

Her voice was hoarse and crackly however if the red brow which raised on Lily's forehead was any indication, she had managed to hear her anyway. Lily surely couldn't possibly be talking about her Animagus book, there was no way.

"You're always carrying around that old brown book, and if your head isn't on your pillow it's in that book."

Charlotte had no idea how she had noticed, she had hid her book as best she could, and never pulled it out when lily was around. She had to make the conclusion that Lily had either been spying on her or had gone through her stuff. AGAIN.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Charlotte said with a grunt, sending an angry look towards her sister.

"Why are you lying?" Lily asked with a raised brow and frown pursed tightly on her lips. Lily may be slightly oblivious to the feelings of others, but she had an uncomfortable knack for knowing exactly when Charlotte was lying or hiding something from her. It made anything and everything so much more difficult.

"Lily… I'm not lying okay, I've been doing some extra study lately."

_Not a lie._

"On what?"

Good Godric, Lily was a persistent little git. Charlotte knew she was suspicious, but she didn't really have any reason to be. Charlotte had been so careful. And it wasn't exactly the first time she had retreated often to solitude. What did Lily expect? That she would hang over her shoulder like a little puppy? Like Potter? Charlotte shuddered at the thought.

"Just some…" Charlotte said thoughtfully, tapping the table with her fingers. "Transfiguration."

_Again, not a lie._

"Transfiguration…. i wasn't aware we had any extra work for that."

Why couldn't she just accept Charlotte didn't want to talk to her about this, or anything really. Of course she would want to know if there was extra credit work that could allow her to progress further. If Charlotte didn't know any better, she would almost suspect that Lily didn't like that she had a chance to better her marks.

"We don't, I've just been doing some seventh year stuff."

_Okay, partially a lie._

Technically seventh years did study Animagi, for a week or two according to Professor Mcgonagall, however it was not exactly the kind of studying she was currently doing. As it didn't involve actually trying to become an Animagus. "I like transfiguration, and if i can learn some extra stuff and have a head start for after summer, i don't see why that's an issue."

"Well i suppose not..." Lily said with a frown, likely wondering why she hadn't thought of it herself.

"Fantastic, can i get back to eating now?" Charlotte said impatiently, though she hadn't taken a single bit of her pie. In fact, now that she thought of it, she was rather hungry…

She began thinking deeply about what she had eaten for the last few days. In all honesty, she had barely taken a bite of any meal since her unfortunate meeting in the restricted section. She'd been too distracted and nervous to even think about food.

"Charlotte i-" Lily began, both brows furrowed and her mouth set into a deep frown.

"Hello my lovely Evan's twins," Potter called loudly as he walked closer towards the two girls. He bowed slightly towards the two before clutching his robes near his chest dramatically, a star gazed look glittering behind his glasses. "Lily you look ravishing tonight. As always of course."

" _Ravishing_?" Charlotte murmured with a laugh, using her hands to cover her wide smile as her sister turned from Potter for a moment to stare at her with a heated gaze. Charlotte could handle Lily when she was annoyed, curious or suspicious. But when Lily Evans was angry… well. Let's say you avoid infuriating her even more. Perhaps James Potter wasn't aware of this yet.

"Potter, leave before i hex you," Lily seethed returning her glare towards Potter who simply winked in response.

That boy was going to be murdered by the girl he fancies, really it was rather poetic. Perhaps Charlotte could earn a few sickles writing about it. Then again, Lily would likely kill her as well.

"That's a tad harsh," Potter said with a smirk, ignoring her anger and plopping down on the bench next to her, flinging his canvas back onto the table carelessly, knocking down several plates of food. "I can't exactly help it if your beauty attracted me from across the great hall."

"Oh good _Godric_." Charlotte murmured watching as Lily began to pull out her wand from her robe pocket. She quickly leant over and grabbed her sister's arm before she could completely remove it, doing something she would likely regret at a later date. She smiled brightly and somewhat falsely towards the infuriating boy across from her. "Potter, can we help you with something?"

"Well, i did come over here to let you both know there will be a party for my good friend Remus in two nights," He said cheerily, turning a flirtatious smile towards Lily. "Lily i hope you will consider attending."

Charlotte almost sighed at the look he gave Lily. Almost.

His mouth was set in a smirk, not overly cocky or obnoxious the way Sirius had smirked at her, but rather more playful. How exactly was Lily not interested in this boy? As far as Charlotte knew, he was smart, funny, loyal and kind...ish. And an obvious plus, he was good looking. So far Charlotte couldn't exactly find the fault that should withhold her sister from at least going to Hogsmeade with him. Apart from the creepy way he managed to find her all the time.

No really, he ALWAYS seemed to know where Lily was at every moment of every day. Charlotte had heard Lily rant about it enough to wonder herself how exactly Potter seemed to find her. Of course he could just ask the paintings, but she had a distinct feeling that after all the paintings became miraculously mixed up in their 4th year, the occupants stuck in each others frames, they wouldn't help him at all. Though it had never been discovered who had charmed the many frames throughout the magical staircase, Charlotte had always suspected either Sirius or Potter. Then again, she suspected the two whenever anything weird or remotely bad happened to the school.

"Potter if i do come, it will be for Remus, not for you," Lily snapped, removing her gaze from Potter and instead studying her water which had turned rather interesting. Apparently.

"Fantastic!"

He said loudly with a wide smile, obviously not catching on the point Lily had tried to make. He gave Charlotte, who had been watching the entire interaction with an amused expression, and expectant smile, asking, "How about you Charlotte?"

"Well i-" Charlotte began with a small smile, grateful that they were at least not bickering anymore in front of her, though it was amusing, it also reminded her that she would be telling Potter things about her sister that she really shouldn't, effectively making her feel more awkward than anything.

She was about to make up an excuse for not going, as she likely wouldn't be, seeing as she had never spoken a word to Remus Lupin, and it would be rather strange to turn up to his party, as well as she had no interest of being in a room full of people who didn't and wouldn't want to know her, however Lily stopped her mid sentence.

"Won't be attending" she said in a stern voice, looking straight at Charlotte. Charlotte's mouth gaped open slightly as she stared, startled at her sister's audacity.

"Excuse me?" Charlotte breathed, both a mixture of shock and anger. She looked from Lily to Potter, finding he looked as confused as she felt.

"Charlotte you're not going"

"Thank you  _mum_ , but if i want to go to a bloody party, i don't need your permission," Charlotte snapped, even if she didn't want to go, Lily had no right to tell her what she could and could not do. Just the fact that she had spoken for Charlotte made her annoyed enough at her twin.

"Well unless you want me telling mum and dad about the other morning i believe you do..."Lily trailed off raising both her brows daringly.

"You  _wouldn't_ ," Charlotte hissed, slamming her hands on the table. Lily was actually suggesting she would tell their parents that she had gotten drunk the other night, enough that she had a hangover in the morning. Lily knew what this meant, which is why is shocked Charlotte so much that she would dare threaten it.

Their parents had warned Charlotte that if they received any news that she began drinking again, they would pull her from Hogwarts. Permanently. At first Charlotte thought they were joking, just saying that so that she would pull her head in. Then they contacted the school to inform them to keep an eye on her. If Charlotte got pulled from Hogwarts, she would concede that her life was over. She would NOT go to a muggle school and learn about muggle things, even if she was muggleborn, and she would refuse to get a muggle job.

"Charlotte, it's not a good idea," Lily said softly, attempting to soothe her sisters obvious distress at her threat.

"Why bloody not?" She asked, her voice icy. Charlotte wasn't one for being controlled. The fact that it was Lily who was trying to control her, Charlotte's perfect twin, just made the situation worse.

Charlotte refused to let Lily make choices for herself, even if she had no interest in going in the first place. She believed everyone had a right to their own opinion and choices. If Charlotte wanted to go to a party, whether or not Lily deemed it as a bad idea, it would be her choice. If Lily was somehow proven correct, and Charlotte truly shouldn't have gone, well, she would accept the consequences.

"Because, correct me if I'm wrong potter," She said, throwing a glance at a stunned Potter whose mouth was gaped open in shock, most likely that Lily was addressing him without any warnings of physical damage and that Lily was in an argument. Lily Evans never argues. She discusses, but never raises her voice. This was a rare sight indeed. "There will be alcohol."

"Oh for FU-" Charlotte began throwing her hands in the air. Charlotte wasn't always one for profanity, but considering the circumstances, she didn't bother to restrain it this time.

"Why is that a problem exactly?" Potter asked, speaking through her curse with an amused expression, earning a glare from Charlotte who most certainly wasn't amused. Charlotte was even more troubled by the warm feeling that instantly rose in her stomach when he smiled at her like that.

"Language Charlotte." Charlotte sent Lily a glare that visibly made her shrink slightly in her seat. If there was one thing Charlotte and Lily had in common, it was the ability to make anyone, anyone, uncomfortable with a stare.

"I thought you turned of age back in January?" He asked.

"We did," Charlotte asnwered through gritted teeth looking only at her sister who seemed oblivious to Charlotte's confusion and annoyance

"Charlotte, do you really want to talk about this here?" Lily asked with a raised brow, both arms crossed on the wooden table. She had spoken slowly, as though talking to a small child who couldn't fully understand the english language, and it made Charlotte furious. Even more so because Lily knew exactly how much it frustrated Charlotte when she spoke to her like that.

"Talk about what?" Charlotte cried, flinging her arms in the air in annoyance, barely missing the tower of sandwiches sitting on stacked trays in the centre of the table. The table may be large, but Charlotte was leant over almost half its width.

"You know exactly why it's a bad idea to go."

"Okay Lily." Charlotte said with a sarcastic smile, falling back in her seat so she wasn't at risk of falling into a pot of soup. "For a few moments i'm going to pretend i know exactly what you're talking about, what gives you the right to decide what's best for me?"

"I'm your sister!" She said incredulously with with a scoff that made Charlotte's blood boil.

"umm.. girls?" Potter asked hesitantly an awkward smile on his face. Any other moment than this, Charlotte likely would have stared at the smile on his face, which in all rights was adorable. However she, at this moment, had the intense urge to pull out her wand and point it at her sister. Potter's interruption was currently annoying them both. The twins turned to face him and managed to yell at him in unison, surprising all three of them. "Shut it Potter!"

"Okay.. ill just sit here then," He said quietly, nibbling on a piece of bread as he watched the two teenagers seething at each other in anger.

"Lily, i don't care if you're the bloody minister for magic, no one decides what to do in my life but me," Charlotte stood up from the table and pointed at her sister half wishing it was her wand she had pointed and not a useless finger. "Not mum, not dad, and definitely not you!"

Charlotte had a much quicker temper than her sister, and somehow, Lily always managed to be the one who set her off. When they were children, and even now on the precipice of adulthood, Lily somehow managed to infuriate her to the point of verbal explosion.

"Bloody hell Charlotte! we are just trying to care for you!"

"Oh screw off Lily, get your bloody big head out of your ass!" Charlotte snarled flinging her arm at her goblet of pumpkin juice, which swung in the air before spilling across the floor several feet away. Charlotte wanted to do a lot more than angrily throw away her drink. She, however, didn't need a detention or suspension against her. She may be infuriated, but she was smart enough to know that pulling her wand out in the great hall during dinner time was a sure way for the both of them to get into trouble. She did NOT need Lily angry at her for getting her into trouble, this fight was nothing compared to how angry she would be then.

"This is you being controlling not caring!" Lily's brows instantly rose up her forehead as she gasped.

"How dare you!" She yelled standing up from the bench and leaning over it just as Charlotte was, her hands gripped tightly on the edge of the table

"Can i just ask-"

"NO!" Lily snapped, turning her head slightly so she could glare at Potter who instantly shut his mouth and turned his wide gaze somewhere across the room, signaling a shrug. Charlotte was curious as to who he was shrugging to and what it meant, but she had the current situation of a raging twin who was slowly turning as red as her hair. Never a good sign for Lily Evans.

"Lily i don't care if you tell mum that i was hungover the other morning, half of the bloody school was hungover!" Charlotte seethed, careful to not say it too loudly, considering there were teachers in the great hall. "I will not let you dictate my life, and i swear to Salazar, if you try you'll bloody regret it!"

"Charlotte..." Lily said with a sigh, looking positively defeated and rather upset as she slumped back into the bench. Charlotte and Lily always argued, but it was generally debating a topic. Never before had they had a fight like this, and both knew it would be as easily fixable as their other arguments.

"No Lily," Charlotte said with a shake of her head, grabbing her leather satchel from beside her and jumping out of the bench using the strength in one arm, essentially flinging both legs out in one fluid movement. Before she turned to storm off, she gave one last furious look at her sister and turned slightly to face Potter.

He looked shocked, upset and worried. It almost made her feel bad. Then again, he was likely just worried how upset Lily looked. She didn't have the capacity to feel bad for him or Lily at the moment.

"Was nice to see you Potter," She said with a smile which was definitely more a grimace than anything.

She stormed out of the great hall, not noticing that the entire room had been quiet and students from all houses and classes as well as the professors at the front of the room watched her stalk off.

All the students who had been enjoying their meal couldn't possibly find any reason that someone would explode at Lily Evans like that. In fact, most had never seen Lily involved in an argument which was so heated it had silenced the entire room. Unfortunately for the two girls, the entire school had heard almost every word, and they sat stunned upon the discovery that the Gryffindor prefect and likely candidate for head girl in her seventh year had a sister.

However stunned and shocked, they would likely forget this information within a day or two. After all, the other girl Lily Evans had been yelling at wasn't anywhere near as interesting as Lily herself.

Charlotte managed to make her way out of the great hall and through to the entrance hall in spectacular time. Likely due to the fact that as soon as the great hall doors had swung shut, she had walked a speed she didn't even know possible. She didn't know where she was going, but she was still shaking with anger at Lily's audacity.

_How dare she!_

_Who Does she think she is!_

_Why, she's Lily Evans of course. The perfect Daughter, Witch and Person in the universe. How painful it must be to have a twin that is adept at nothing and boring in comparison._

"Charlotte, wait!" Potter called, running out and skidding to a stop, meeting her in the hallway. She sighed deeply. She was still angry, but the sight of Potter both annoyed her and made her feel rather relieved. Likely due to the fact she had never had someone to come see if she was alright other than Lily. Considering she was fighting with Lily, the likelihood of her coming out to comfort her was unlikely.

"Yes potter?" Charlotte asked, turning to meet him. He was flushed in the face and his robes danced as his run turned to a stop and by some means, his hair was far beyond its usual messiness. It was impractically sitting in front of his glasses in tumbles of dark knots that not even an unknotting charm could tame. Charlotte found herself, somehow, wanting to laugh at his current state of dishevelment. How was it that someone could lose all order in their appearance from running only a few metres.

"Are we still on tomorrow night?" He asked, swiping a hand through his hair so the thick tresses sat on top of his head instead of in front. She raised a confused brow wondering what on earth he was talking about. Had he not run out to see if she was okay, seeing as she and Lily just had a rather violent and public fight?

Apparently, he had seen her confusion as he took a step forward to specify. "You know our… deal?" He leaned forward slightly to whisper the last bit, and Charlotte closed her eyes in annoyance.

Of course he hadn't run out of the great hall to check if you are okay Charlotte, what a stupid thing to assume. He is interested in your sister and doesn't give a goblins piss about you. This is exactly why Charlotte avoided any and all those who were friends with Lily. It mixed her up in all sorts of nonsense she had no wish to be in. Like caring.

"Of course," Charlotte said with a sigh, forcing her face into a smile which honestly made her look constipated. She dropped the smile, knowing it was as fake as anything anyway.

"Fantastic," He said with a wide smile, oblivious to the hurt displayed on her face. "You don't mind if Sirius drops in do you?"

Oh Godric, he was joking right? What she needed least in that moment was an eccentric drama queen who attempted to emotionally blackmail her into helping Potter. Besides, she was incredibly uncomfortable with his perverted forwardness and his presence made her both awkward and annoyed. He was also far too attractive for his own good, he bloody knew it as well.

"If I said I did, would it matter?" She asked sarcastically. Charlotte was finally feeling the weight of the past few days, and it hit her like a bloody crucio. She was exhausted beyond belief, her brain practically imploding from intake of too much information. Her deal with potter was already causing her enough grief, but now the fight with Lily made her want to sleep until she was 100, and then some more. She also had several rolls of parchment sitting on her bed which are meant to be filled with writing. She chose to forget about that for the moment however. Though homework wasn't as easy for her as Lily thought, she could get a passable mark if she did them tonight with little effort involved.,

"Well yes, I would tell him not to come," Potter said with a small frown. He seemed confused by her answer. Really she just wanted to be alone. Perhaps if he had come out of the great hall as a friend, instead of Lily's hopeful conquest, she would happily talk to him, no sarcasm or pessimism involved.

"I don't mind, just tell him to keep his thoughts to himself," She said eventually with a sigh, gripping onto the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache, and had no interest in going to the Hospital wing for a potion. Their potions always managed to make her feel nauseous.

"I can tell him, though it may not help," He said with a wistful smile, knowing as well as she did, that he wouldn't.

"Likely," Charlotte muttered, scuffing her shoe against the ground. From the damage on the toe side of her shoes, you could tell it was a habit of hers.

Potter didn't say anything for awhile, so Charlotte turned to leave. She was iffed that he had come to talk about lily, just after they had had a fight. She knew Potter wasn't stupid, so he was apparently extremely oblivious.

"Hey Charlotte ?" He asked in a small voice, his hand resting on her shoulder. She stilled instantly and turned back slightly. Even as she turned, his hand remained on her shoulder, encompassing it with a warmth that she both needed and didn't want. She could handle helping him with Lily. She could accept his help with becoming an Animagus. She could accept the idea of one day becoming his friend, she even welcomed it. But she could not, would not, ever appreciate the feeling she had now with his hand on her shoulder.

How could Charlotte enjoy such a unimportant and non-affectionate action. How could the warmth in her stomach rise so far as to blaze through and light her cheeks. Why was it that she suddenly felt safe and content. It was confusing and annoying. Enough so that she shrugged his hand off with a movement of her shoulder, refusing to meet his gaze which was no doubt confused at her unsociable action.

"Hm?" She mumbled, rubbing at her forehead where a faint pressure behind her eyes had begun to grow into a headache. This was all too much too soon. Only a week ago, Lily was the only person she spoke to everyday. Not that she enjoyed that arrangement, but it was what it was. Now she felt awkward in everyone else's presence.

"Are you alright?"

Charlotte looked up to meet his hazel eyes, and was shocked to find, he genuinely looked concerned for her.

"Not really," she said honestly, frowning. Why was he making things so confusing. She had been annoyed at him for not caring, now he chose to ask if she was okay?

"Anything i can help with?"

"Definitely not." Charlotte said with a scoff of laughter. It was bad enough that she was having a fight with Lily. Involving Potter in the mix was just a disaster waiting to happen."But thank you." she added with a small smile.

He just stood there, watching her. He clearly didn't believe that there was nothing he could do, and he was seemingly honestly concerned about her, which was touching and infuriating. It would be much easier in this moment if he just walked away.

But he wasn't walking away. He was just standing there staring at her. His brows were furrowed and his mouth set into a deep frown that made him look far older than he should.

Charlotte turned away and walked off, having been stared at enough for one night. He didn't call out to her, or grab her shoulder again. She didn't have to look back to know he was still watching her, she could feel his gaze burning through the back of her head.

It was only a small walk from the great hall to the Gryffindor common room, yet Charlotte found every moment was taken up by thoughts of her sister. Lily was an amazing witch, there was no doubt. It went far beyond her magical capabilities. She was articulate, essentially kind in most situations, smart beyond belief and outwardly beautiful. Charlotte didn't doubt potter's sincerity for his feelings towards Lily. Really, who couldn't love Lily Evans.

She knew Lily had seemed too casual about finding out she was drinking again. This was Lily Evans she was talking about, she had a way of putting herself directly in the middle of everyone's troubles. Most wouldn't complain because, well, it's bloody Lily evans! Every boy in school wanted to date her, par the Slytherin pureblooded prats who wouldn't dare step a metre near a 'Mudblood', and every girl was either envious of her vixen red hair and allure which had everyone wrapped around her pinky, or wanted to be her best friend.

What really annoyed Charlotte, was how oblivious Lily was. Almost to the point where she was sure that Lily knew exactly what she was doing. She would give a simple smile to the boys making them instant putty in her tiny delicate hand, or a complement to the girls, so they liked her. Even teachers couldn't deny how much they liked her. She was a brilliant witch and talented in all her classes, even the ones she didn't like, like divernation. Getting top marks in all her subjects meant she was almost the only running shot for head girl. Almost.

If Charlotte wasn't such a wallflower, she could most likely contend her sister for the spot of head girl. As it stood, most teachers were too focused on Lily to see Charlotte's potential. No matter how high her marks, Lily seemed to to level her. Even when she did overtake her sister, which didn't exactly happen often, no one seemed to really care.

Charlotte would never admit that she had an old shoe box filled with the essays and tests she bested her sister. She likely saw how ridiculous and obsessive it was. Probably just as bad as Potter's obsession with Lily.

And with that uncomfortable thought, she retreated to her stone alcove, deciding not to join her fellow lions, even if she would go to her room anyway. It was a simple arch in the courtyard hidden by a alcove of trees which made it a perfect solitary retreat. She wasn't exactly hidden. If you were walking down the corridor on your way to potions or the Slytherin dungeon, you would be able to see a student with their hogwarts robes on, lying in an archway, but it was inconspicuous. Students and teachers were either too oblivious or uninterested to notice her hideaway, so she claimed it as her own in her third year. If she knew any repellent spells, she would likely cast them on the spot so no other individual could sit there, but she didn't, and she would likely get into trouble anyway. Charlotte couldn't exactly OWN a few bricks.

None the less, she found herself coming to the spot whenever she could escape from her classes, and out of the watchful eyes of her sister. Curled up, so her legs were elevated slightly in the air, and her head was resting comfortably against the stone, she had an all too perfect view of the Hogwarts grounds. Sometimes, she found herself simply staring out at the landscape, as she was doing in that moment. It was too hard not to appreciate the view.

Hogwarts was her home, and she loved it. She loved the bricked corridors and the talking paintings. She loved the ghosts which kept every meal interesting. She loved learning and practising magic without the fear of being called a 'freak'. She loved the feeling that she was a part of something, even if it was miniscule in comparison to her sister.

This view of the grounds, students walking through the courtyard, teachers bustling about with stacks of books floating behind them were more comforting in that moment than a draught of peace.

Any anger, anxiety or frustration she had towards her sister slipped away with one long and deep sigh. Sure, she was still incredibly pissed at Lily. She had no right to say she couldn't go to the party, but Charlotte knew she did it because she cared. Charlotte just wished she would care less. She was also still confused about Potter but she didn't want to think about it. She had enough on her plate to know that confusing thoughts about a boy who likely loved her sister, were stupid, insignificant and should be extinguished at all costs.

Besides, she should be thinking about other things. Like the meeting she would be having tomorrow night, Remus Lupins party that she may or may not be going to and the homework that's due tomorrow that she had not started.

"My life is so exciting," Charlotte muttered as she pushed herself from her archway in the direction of the Gryffindor common room, mentally preparing to have a long night of homework and likely, once again, no sleep.

_Who needs sleep anyway._


	5. Chapter 5

POVs: Charlotte Evans

Word Count: 8,719 words

Date Posted: 19/05/2018

 

**Chapter Five**

****(~Charlotte Evans~)** **

****

Lily had been avoiding Charlotte all morning. She had even gone so far as to wake up earlier and leave their shared dorm before Charlotte had gotten out of bed, not giving her a single passing glance, storming out of their dorm, her bag swinging determinedly on her shoulder.

Charlotte could say she didn't care, that she hardly noticed her sisters dismissal and unsociable behaviour, but considering Lily was virtually the only person she spoke to most days, It was obvious to the both of them that Charlotte was a little peeved. She couldn't understand why it was Lily who was avoiding Charlotte like she hadn't done anything wrong. It was Lily who stepped out of bounds and embarrassed her in front of Potter and the whole bloody school.

As it turns out, their discussion wasn't as private as Charlotte had hoped, and she managed to hear several other Gryffindors discussing what on earth Lily Evans could be fighting about with 'that girl'. Really it was as though they had forgotten that Lily fought with Potter on a regular basis, almost every morning evening and night. Or rather they became accustomed to the two arguing, so they simply passed it off as normal. Either way, it was rather infuriating that what both she and Lily had blurted was not only knowledgeable to a certain potter, but also half of the school.

Because she really needed half the school to wonder what the strange girl with incredibly messy hair was talking with both Lily Evans and James potter, practically the two most well known students. They were virtually superstars, and it was honestly rather pathetic to see the way both boys and girls watched the two.

She had avoided the great hall altogether that morning, taking a walk of the ground, and apple in hand and her wand twirling in the other, another habit of hers. It was only 7:30 in the morning, so the air was still relatively crisp, and fog covered the greater levels of the school. However as the sun began to rise, the view became undeniably exquisite.

She could have spent the entire morning and afternoon walking on the dew covered grass watching the change of colour and movement of the sky, however she had her classes to attend to. No matter how much she wanted to avoid Lily, and potter, she couldn't justify skipping classes because of it. She would not take part in such deplorable behavior.

Charlotte stared lazily at her potions professor as he told the classroom the frightful tale of the minister for magic who died after eating a Alihotsy flavored fudge. They had already been in the potions classroom for half an hour, and Charlotte was not the only student who was losing the ability to focus, and stay awake and attentive. Though this was a usual occurrence in Professor Slughorn's classroom.

He was currently standing at the front of the room with a hand resting on his rotund belly, laughing loudly, despite the rather dreary topic.

"Though it was delicious, surprising considering the Hyena tree has a rather pungent fume, she died only moments after taking her first bite. What a way to go..." The professor stared off slightly and began rubbing his stomach thoughtfully.

"Sir," Charlotte called out from the back of the potions classroom her hand raised in the air. All eyes turned from Slughorn to her and she pulled it down slowly, uncomfortable with the sudden attention, yet too late to take it back.

"Yes, miss..." He drawled off in thought, his brows furrowing, likely realizing he had no idea who the student that had addressed him was. "Sorry my dear, i don't believe i was informed we had a new student."

Charlotte sighed and hung her head slightly, someone had seen the action as a soft chuckle was emitted from the center of the room. She tilted her head up slightly and realised with a frown it was Sirius Black. Well at least someone found humor in her situation, even if it was the irritating boy.

He was sitting beside potter several benches in front of Charlotte, and the both of them had found their teachers statement funny, however Sirius was the only one who made it known. Potter couldn't know, but Charlotte could see his smirk from where she was sitting up the back. Charlotte couldn't understand what was so funny about your teacher not knowing who you are. In fact she had no idea why they found it so funny at all. Only days ago neither of them had likely not known that she even existed.

Her eyes drifted to the table in front of the pair of annoying boys to Lily's table. She sat with Alice Longbottom and both girls had not turned from their chairs to look back as everyone else had.

"Evans sir, and i'm not new" Charlotte said shortly, attempting to pass over the fact that her potions teacher couldn't remember her bloody name... and that she was Lily's sister. It was no secret Lily was his favorite student, and Charlotte had no want or need to be associated with her sister when it came to Professor Slughorn. The man practically idolized her for Godric's sake.

"I was just wondering, not that the story wasn't interesting, what it had to do with… anything?"

Laughter bubbled throughout the room at her backhanded comment, no doubt many of the students having similar thoughts to Charlotte. They may be used to their teacher rambling on about nonsense, it didn't, however, make it any less aggravating. He was a good potions professor, just wasted far too much time sharing stories and, in Charlotte's opinion, complimenting Lily on her potions work.

"Ah of course! Today, we shall be making Alihotsy draught, a very strong potion which causes hysteria in its consumer, partner up and collect your ingredients. You have till the end of the lesson to make the perfect draught. You will be marked on this!"

Charlotte moved quickly to collect her ingredients, arriving in the store room before the class had even thought to get out of their seats, and sitting back at her bench just as they had left theirs. She was used to working alone, and surprisingly, enjoyed it. She was almost always able to finish her work earlier as she had better concentration and determination when she was alone.

The fair few times Lily had joined her in potions had never ended well. Lily, being the attention hog she was, ordered Charlotte around like she hadn't an idea about what she was doing, even though she was very aware Charlotte was second in the class to Lily herself. To put it bluntly, never had a potion gone so wrong as when Lily and Charlotte worked together. From then on, Lily sat half the classroom away, a welcoming change for Charlotte.

Charlotte opened her potions book to the page on Alihotsy and began readying. Not overly complex, yet it took a great amount of precision and good timing, not unlike most potions. She hadn't finished half a page when a voice annoyingly pulled her from her concentration.

"Morning love." Sirius drooled with a lazy smirk, sliding into the stool next to her so they were sitting side by side. Charlotte shifted slightly at the uncomfortable feeling of their arms pressed against each other, moving her chair to the left so they were at least a foot apart.

He was either completely unaware of how close he had been sitting to her, or did it on purpose to unnerve her. Considering he was watching her with a brow raised and a humoured smirk on his face, it was fair to say that he did it on purpose.

"Hello Sirius," Charlotte said with an uninterested sigh and monotone voice. At least that's what she hoped it sounded like. She couldn't exactly give him what he wanted, which was likely to embarrass her by making her blush.

She knew enough about Sirius black to know he had no female friends. He had 'friends' but not the kind that Charlotte would ever consider being or even thinking about. So he was here to blackmail her again. It's the only option that made sense considering he obviously wasn't interested in having her as a friend

Charlotte assessed his casual demeanour and untidy hair with a frown, eventually asking with a sigh. "Something I can help you with?"

"Well now that you mention it..." He whispered, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and leaning forward so the space between them became nonexistent. Trying to act as uninterested as possible, she stared at him for a few moments her face blank. Eventually his smirk did fall slightly and he looked positively confused.

Sirius was only an inch away and their noses were almost touching. Charlotte's heart was beating erratically, never being so close to a boy before. She kept the bored stare on her face, even as he leant back slightly in confusion. Inside she was waging a battle between blushing profusely, shoving him away from her and pulling him closer. The last option made her screw up her face in disgust as she shook the thought away. She hadn't, didn't and never would want anything to do with Sirius Black like that. Merlin knows he was practically dating half the girls in sixth year.

Sirius had obviously seen her revolted reaction as he looked even more confused and a little affronted. His brows were furrowed and his mouth was slightly gaped open as he stared at her. You would think he could paint an artwork by how long he stared at her, yet she still managed the facade of indifference.

"Forget I asked." Charlotte muttered, turning back to the book. Silently she felt triumphant. She had been a breath away from him and didn't lose her cool.

For whatever reason, more and more she had begun to notice certain aspects of the male population at Hogwarts that she deemed attractive, even when she attempted to ignore it as she just had. It was getting harder and harder not to notice. In fact, just that morning she had been sitting at the Gryffindor table mindlessly stirring her vomit inducing breakfast and caught the eye of a seventh year Ravenclaw. She hadn't the faintest idea who he was, but he practically had her blushing at the smile he sent her way.

Sirius and James were likely the easiest on the eyes, though a few Slytherin boys were also rather good looking. It wasn't helpful at all that all the boys knew how good looking they were. Merlin knew they were all arrogant enough as is.

"If you say so." Sirius said with a dazed, confused expression. She turned back to the textbook and pretended to read. It wasn't exactly easy considering a tall handsome boy was staring her down like she was a puzzle only he could solve. "So, 'partner', am i cutting or are you?"

"You cut, i'll brew." She said pointedly, moving from the chair to hand him the knife and ingredients which he took and set up rather orderly. She was utterly surprised that he seemed to know what he was doing. She refused to show it, because it was kind of rude to assume he wouldn't know what to do. He began measuring out ingredients efficiently with great care. Separating the plants from the liquid ingredients and preparing the roots to chop.

"I like a girl who knows what she wants." Sirius said with a smirk, winking at Charlotte who refused to look anything other than annoyed at his behaviour.

"Oh shut up Sirius and cut the bloody Alihotsy".

For a while not a word was spoken between the two. Sirius cut the ingredients in order at a relatively fast rate, and she began creating the potion. Considering how she was used to being alone, it surprised her how easily she worked with him. They made small comments on what either of them were doing, but other than that, they had done almost half the potion already.

"James told me about your deal." Sirius stated after a few moments of cutting up the flitterby moths, putting down the knife and sitting sideways on the stool so he gave Charlotte his full attention.

"Oh?" She asked distractedly, stirring the potion and reading their textbook extensively. Thats what it looked like at least. She was insanely curious as to what he told Sirius, how much he knew about wanting to become an Animagus. He likely already knew Potter was an Animagus, after all they were virtually  _incarceroused_ together. If she hadn't been so sure that Sirius had so many 'friends' and Potter fancied her sister, she'd likely think they themselves were more than friends.

"Yeah, and I just wanted to let you know I'll drop in every now and then during your 'arranged meetings' ''

"And why is that exactly? Unless you have a keen insight on either my sister, which i doubt, or.." She leaned a little closer to the right so that their shoulders were touching so she could whisper the rest. He obviously hadn't expected this action, as his brows shot up, which she just rolled her eyes at. "...being an Animagus, I don't see how your presence would benefit anyone."

"I'm going to pretend that didn't hurt my feelings love," He answered with a pout, forcing her to sit back in her seat and roll her eyes. ''I do know a little on what you're trying to do, not as much as James, but enough to be helpful."

"Well I suppose it couldn't hurt to have your help then" She muttered thoughtfully. Honestly she'd rather only Potter know, but if Sirius truly did know a little, it wasn't so bad. However she was not looking forward to when she finally began to change into her Animagi form. Perhaps she could find a way to get rid of the both of them before that happened.

"You don't have to make it sound like a burden." Sirius said dryly

"Believe me, I'm trying really hard not to." She remarked with a smirk, to which he just rolled his eyes in a similar fashion to how she did, not moments ago.

"By the way are you coming tomorrow night?" Her brow rose in confusion, forcing him to clarify."... to Remus's party."

"Well, I'm not really sure; I don't generally go to parties." She said with a shrug, noticing he was looking at her sceptically. It irked her that he was asking this. Had Potter put him up to it? Why was he acting so interested?

"Really, like never?"

"Not once."

"Not even the Quidditch parties?"

"Nope." She said with a sigh, popping the p loudly.

"Wow..." Sirius whispered with a low whistle, genuinely stunned. He seemed to be looking at Charlotte critically and she fought against his gaze, not used to being looked at so intensely. She shuffled nervously in her seat as he watched her, and absently scuffed her shoe against the foot of the potions desk. "Is there a particular reason why?"

Was he an idiot?

"Uhh well generally... I'm not notified, not invited or not wanted." She answered attempting to look as indifferent as possible. He was still watching her quizzically, dubious of her answer. "Believe it or not, you're the first person I've spoken to today, other than Slughorn of course."

"Your serious?"

“No I'm Charlotte,” She said in mock sincerity.

“Oh _har har_ ,” Sirius said with a sarcastic laugh rolling his storm eyes and shaking his head. It was a horrid joke, Charlotte couldn't help but grin widely and Sirius even gave her a half smile in response. "You've been waiting to say that haven't you?"

"Possibly," Charlotte replied with a cheesy grin that she honestly couldn't help.

"Be honest though, why am I the first person you've spoken to?"

"Maybe because I don't like people." She answered with an uninterested shrug. Charlotte had no interest in sharing that she had no friends other than her sister. It was embarrassing enough that Potter was slightly aware of the situation, she didn't need another arrogant idiot knowing as well.

"That's possible, but unlikely; you seem to be talking to me just fine." He remarked smoothly nudging her with his shoulder.

Honestly, Charlotte almost toppled off her stool from the force he bumped her with. Considering it was such a small movement, he likely didn't mean to do it, you would think someone could control their body enough to know how much force to use when you nudged someone.

If it had been someone else, possibly a stranger, she likely would have pushed him back in the hopes that he would land on his ass. However, he had been making an attempt to be friendly with her, and it was more than others had, so instead of roughly shoving him back, she worked on pretending she hadn't almost fallen off the chair by shuffling in her seat.

"Well you're rather easy to talk to when you're not being an obnoxious asshole," Charlotte grumbled, frustration leaking through each word. The cause likely going unnoticed by the boy next to her, considering he just tugged up the corner of his mouth and winked at her.

"Why thank your kind lady, your charm is ever flowing."

"Uh huh." She drooled rolling her eyes with a loud sigh that had him laughing.

"You going to answer my question?" Sirius implored, a brow raised as he tucked his chin in one hand that was rested on the bench before them.

"Will you stop pestering me if I do? Believe it or not, we do have to finish this potion...Today."

Not that she really had anything to worry about, even with her slight decrease in dedication to her studied lately; she was still second in her class.

"Love, you know as well as I do that we are virtually done." Charlotte hadn't actually known this; she had been distracted from reading the rest of the instructions. A soft blush rose on her cheeks in embarrassment, not that she would ever admit she was wrong to him of course.

"But yes, I will stop 'pestering you'."

For the life of her, Charlotte couldn't work out why Sirius was so curious. Was it not plainly obvious that she was a social outcast and pariah in their school?

"Okay, well I guess it's because I don't have anyone to talk to."

 _Just leave it at that, please for the love of the founders and Merlin's great beard, just drop it_.  _Understand my hint, possibly the tone in which I am speaking or my body language both suggesting I have no wish to discuss this with you!_

"You have no friends?"

"Yes Sirius, i have no friends," she repeated with a sigh, bowing her head to hide her annoyance. Sirius bloody black would be the death of her. Or perhaps she would be the death of him if their conversation didn't sway onto cheerier topics. Charlotte would happily discuss anything, ANYTHING other than this right now.

"That's..."

"Pathetic?" She interjected with a raised brow, already knowing that it was and not wanting to hear the words from his mouth. "Yeah I know."

"I was going to say sad." He replied with a frown

_'Pathetically sad really.'_

"What I don't understand is, why you don't have any friends. You're nice, smart and clearly beautiful." Charlotte blushed lightly at his compliment, which turned even darker when she realised he had said it with an intense amount of seriousness. He actually thought she was all the things he said. She couldn’t quite work out if she was more surprised that he found her nice, considering the _three_ conversations they’ve shared, she thought she’d been anything but, or beautiful.

"Sirius, let me ask you a question," Charlotte said in a small voice, both because it was an awfully sensitive topic and she still hadn't recovered from her shock at his flattery. "Did you know who I was, before potter asked you to emotionally blackmail into helping him?"

"Hey i wasn't emoti-"

"Did you?" She implored, her gaze turning hard.

"Well... No..." He said with a frown, likely wondering himself why he hadn't.

"And there is the problem right there." She sighed and turned away from Sirius, looking across the room at her sister who was laughing loudly with Alice. Her laugh even sounded perfect. "Half of the students in our year don't even know Lily has a sister. The rest have no interest in socialising with me because they are friends with Lily."

"Well why don't you try to make friends with people, instead of hiding in your room."

Hiding in her... He was either making some spot on assumptions, or had managed to worm this information out of someone else. Considering the only other person who knew she spent all of her time either in her room or in her stone alcove, was Lily, and Lily likely wouldn't tell Sirius anything, she concluded that Sirius was a good judge of character. Or possibly a stalker. Hopefully not the latter.

"It's not that easy."

"Of course it is."

"No it's not," She repeated through gritted teeth. He had no idea how hard it was. He was Sirius bloody Black. His 'good' name alone made him widely noticed by everyone else. One could question whether or not the black name was good, but it was an old and powerful pureblood name. That in itself was enough these days. The girls loved him and the boys were envious. Every step he took screamed confidence and every word that came from his mouth was silky and charming.

"Why?"

"Why are you so damn curious!" Charlotte snapped, sick of his imploring gaze and sensitive questions. He had no right to interrogate her like this, as though they were friends. "Don't you think if I wanted to tell you, I bloody would have!"

He was apparently stunned at her outbreak, as he leaned back on the stool and watched her with wide eyes. A hand wove its way through his messy hair and he turned back to the potions table, a frown set firmly in place.

Charlotte felt bad. She actually felt bad. She shouldn't, he was being a nosy git and just annoying in general, but he hadn't exactly been rude or pushy. Now, he actually looked like a scolded puppy, drooping over the bench with slumped shoulders and poking the leftover roots sitting in front of him.

"I don't know," Charlotte whispered eventually, sighing when his eyes met hers, an intense amount of weariness seemingly overtaking her just in that moment. "For a few years now... Everyone has just forgotten me."

"Forgotten you, what do you mean?"

"I mean I would have a conversation with someone one day and the next it was like we had never spoken. People would walk by my desk and know I was there, but act like I wasn't. Do you know how many times I would sit with Lily and someone would just come interrupt our conversation? All the bloody time."

Charlotte hadn't meant to, but what began as a soft whisper rose to a growl. Impishly she cleared her throat and settled back down into her stool, avoiding Sirius' curious gaze. As she waited for him to say something, she worked on de-tangling her hair, which she had neglected to do anything about when getting ready for the day.

"That's rather... Odd."

"Yes I know," Charlotte agreed nodding her head, wincing when the action tugged a knot that her hands had been woven into. She had puzzled over the oddities of her life for too many hours before she had come to accept her pathetic situation. "That's why I wasn't for a moment surprised when Potter called me _Catherine_."

"He called you Catherine? Ouch." He said with a wince and slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm used to it," Charlotte shrugged. "What I was surprised about, was that both yourself and Potter have managed to remember talking to me. It's quite a feat."

In all honesty, she had been a little more than surprised. Her heart had practically leaped from her chest when Sirius had stepped towards her table. To have someone not only remember her, but knowingly seek her out was something that only happened none too often.

Though both he and Potter managed to annoy her, she couldn't help but appreciate their company.

It was obvious they didn't simply come to her for unselfish reasons. Potter wanted help with Lily and... Well... She didn't know what Sirius wanted, but it likely wasn't to have deep and meaningful conversations.

After many years of having Lily around, Charlotte found she would apparently like anyone's company. Even the schools arrogant, attractive, mischievous pranksters.

"Are you saying we are one of the only people who have?" Sirius said, interrupting her thoughts.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, you're one of five students actually."

Five people. Five bloody people from the last 3-4 years who hadn't forgotten she was alive. If that wasn't a reason in itself to turn into a cold, narcissistic, world hating-witch, Charlotte really couldn't think of what else could.

"Who are the others?"

"Well Lily, obviously, Alice her best friend who practically lives with us during the summer, Severus-"

"Snivellus!" He interrupted; his brows raised high and a loud laugh breaking through his lips desperately. It was apparently a lot funnier than she had originally thought as moments after he was still loudly laughing, hitting the table with his fist.

Charlotte could feel her eyes narrow at his mild teasing.

She had never been close to Severus Snape as her twin had. After all it was her who had first met him and it was him who told her she wasn't a freak. Severus may have shown Lily a little of the magical world they had yet to be a part of, but it had taken much longer for Charlotte.

Lily had known before the Hogwarts letter came that she was a witch, and had clutched the letter to her chest proudly. Charlotte however had just stared at the browned parchment, clear indication that she _wasn’t_ a freak, though she hardly believed it.

Lily had known Charlotte was like her, yet hadn't told her a word Severus had shared to her. In fact, Severus hadn't even known of her existence until she made her way into the tree house they had at the back of the Evans property, where both Lily and Severus were openly performing magic. Severus had been transfiguring parchment into little birds, and Lily had been making them fly.

Charlotte had been fascinated, outraged and so completely torn and hurt, that the first instinct she had was to run away. Lily did eventually allow Charlotte to meet with them in the tree house, but she felt like an outsider.

So no, Severus wasn't her _friend_. But he was likely the damn closest thing to it other than Lily. He would always give her a nod of recognition and, before fifth year, would sometimes work with her in the library.

Since last years... _events_ , he hadn't spoken a word to her, and would snarl or scowl at her from a distance. Perhaps he deserved the nicknames and the treatment he received from most of the Gryffindor’s, he had turned cold and had begun to live up to the Slytherin stereotype as she had always feared he would.

"That's a horrid nickname." She admonished, ignoring his eye roll. "Severus, yourself and Potter."

Sirius sat watching her for a few moments, tapping his fingers on the cutting board he had been using earlier.

"I think I know exactly what you need."

"A new life?" She replied, raising a brow only somewhat sarcastic.

If he could find a way to somehow stopper a potion that would give her a new life, shed likely take it without a blink of her eyes. She only felt somewhat guilty for feeling this. After all, she doubted lily would care; Petunia would gladly have one less freak of a sister. She didn't really know what her parents would think. Thankfully it was all hypothetical.

"Nope," Sirius said with a wide grin, popping the p. "You need to make a name for yourself."

"I already have one; I'm the amazing Lily Evans sister." Chapter twirled her hand mockingly in the air with a bright smile.

"One that is a little less depressing." Well he had her there, it was rather depressing.

"True."

“You need to do something so extraordinary that others won't forget your name or they will see you as more than Lily's sister.'”

Now that's an idea.

Coming from Sirius, he likely thought doing something stupid that would definitely land her in detention of worse would be the best way to achieve it.

Little did he know, practically everything she did was an attempt to pull herself out of Lily's shadow. She hadn't spent weeks and weeks preparing for her O.W.L's because she liked studying. Charlotte didn't even really care what marks she got, as long as they were equal or better than Lily's.

In the end, Lily still managed to better her. Lily achieved an Outstanding in Ancient Runes, whereas Charlotte had only gotten Exceeds Expectations. Her drop in the class came around the same time she had begun drinking. For a few weeks, she traded spending all her time with her head in a book with firewhiskey and red current rum. Half delirious and without a care in the world.

“I don't see a way of that happening,” She muttered darkly, clear resentfulness dripping into every syllable.

“Give me a few weeks,” He said with finality, slamming his closed fist into the table. Earning annoyed looks from throughout the room. “The marauders will find something!”

“Oh yeah, Potter mentioned Marauders. I assumed it was a cult, is it a club?”

“You thought it was a cult?” He sputtered, obviously trying to work out whether he should laugh or be seriously concerned that she had assumed it was some sort of dark arts devotional club.

“Well, yeah...” She said with a laugh, as though it was obvious.

'Marauders' wasn't an especially conspicuous name for a club. The word literally meant to search for things to steal or people to attack. She had even gone so far as to look it up in the library. Charlotte had to wonder who the idiot was that had thought up of the name.

Had she, and everyone else in the wizarding world, not known that the followers of you-know-who were called death eaters, she'd likely assume that Marauders would be a name they would chose.

“I'll tell you when you're ready,” Sirius said with a proud smirk.

“Ugh, that's what potter told me,” Charlotte shook her head and turned away from Sirius, back towards the potions table before them.

“Hmm well he's usually right,” Sirius commented dryly. If Charlotte knew him any better, she'd think he was suggesting something, but she really didn't know him.

“Okay, well we have about 15 minutes of the lesson left and our potion isn't finished, less chatting and more chopping.”

“Charlotte?”

“Hm?”

“Come to the party.” Charlotte gave Sirius a quick look, regarding his sincerity and soft smile before turning away, once again utterly confused to the boy's motives.

“I'll think about it,” she muttered with a frown.

Charlotte and Sirius spent the rest of class time finishing the potion, testing it regularly by placing a single drop of raven's blood into the cauldron.

Each test proved they had brewed the potion to almost perfection. Once they had added all the ingredients and the heat had been turned off, they shared a smile at their joint success. Surprisingly Charlotte hadn't actually minded working with him, other than his intrusive personal questions, of course.

"Merlin!" Professor Slughorn cried, mixing the potion with the dragon bone spoon. His brows were raised and he looked positively stunned "Perfect potion Mr Black, my _my_! I'm quite impressed!"

"Thank you sir, but really, it was mostly Charlotte here who did all the work." Sirius commented with a wink in Charlotte's direction, who raised a quizzical brow in response.

"Well done my dear, it isn't every day another student manages to best Lily Evans brewing skills!"

"Err... Thankyou sir." Charlotte said uncertainly, completely unaware of the glare she was being given from across the room by her sister. That bite from the professor had Charlotte smiling. Charlotte hadn't been trying all that hard and she somehow managed to brew a better draught than her sister, no doubt due to Sirius help, she'd always been rotten with potion ingredients.

"Yes, 20 points to Gryffindor, for each of you" Professor Slughorn clapped his hands twice, as he so often did, and walked on to the next potions table, making further comments on the other student’s work.

"Oi! James!" Sirius yelled, standing up on the stool so he was easily visible to the entire room. Charlotte attempted to stop him and drag him off the height by the bottom of his robes; however, he simply laughed and tugged it back. Instantly all eyes turned to him as he stood proudly, waiting till Potter himself looked directly at him.

Potter ran a hand through his hair so it wasn't hanging in front of his eyes and smiled brightly at his friend who had the attention of the class. Remus Lupin was standing beside him, but unlike Potter who thought the situation humorous; he simply rolled his eyes and packed up the potions equipment. Charlotte gave a roll of her own eyes and sat back in her own stool, frustrated yet not surprised at his antics. "You hear that mate? I got 20 points!"

Several of the students began clapping... _Actually clapping_ , and of course Sirius began bowing to the group of students. Potter had loudly applauded his friend and hooted out from the front of the classroom.

Had Charlotte just a little less self-control, she likely would have the inclination to send a splash of the Alihotsy draught in his direction, for both educational and amusement purposes. As it were, she just leaned back against the bench shaking her head at the arrogance of her potions partner.

"You just lost 20 for that outburst Mr black, I suggest next time you take a reward a little more graciously"

At Professor Slughorns scolding, Sirius instantly hopped down from the stool and fell into the seat, a disappointed frown on his face. Potter had laughed loudly as he made his way over, swinging his arm around the shoulders of his friend who grunted in response.

"Aww padfoot, it's okay mate. I'm sure you'll manage to make a few more working with Charlotte here."

"Morning potter," Charlotte said with a nod of her head in his direction, which he met with a wide smile, before turning back to the idiot slumped in the stool next to her. "Sirius, why did you say I did all the work? You were just as good as I was"

"He's secretly very modest" Potter said with a whisper caving his mouth with his hands so only the three at the bench could hear.

"Don't tell anyone, it will tarnish my badass reputation" Sirius muttered sarcastically, apparently still down about losing the points he had gained. Hopefully he would learn a lesson about humility. That seemed rather unlikely.

"This better not be your way of 'making a name' for myself, because I have no want to be teacher's pet." That position was reserved solely for Lily.

"Charlotte, _love,_ that was me being nice. When I decide a good way to make a name for you, it will be a lot more spectacular, believe me."

"Unfortunately I don't doubt it will be...spectacular," Charlotte said with a sigh, shaking her head.

Charlotte slung her leather bag over her head, letting it rest lazily at her hip as she tucked her potions book into her bag.

"Charlotte, mind if I walk you to your next class?" A voice beckoned from Charlotte's right.

She turned to see her sister standing with her arms folded around a book, watching her with a heated gaze. If anyone else had been the victim of her question, it would seem as though a friendly invitation.

But Charlotte knew better. It wasn't an invitation at all, it was an expectation. One that would likely resolve in another heated fight considering Lily didn't look at all apologetic and Charlotte had nothing to be sorry for. If they were alike in any way, it would be their unfailing stubbornness.

"Yes, I do actually and I'd rather you didn't." Both boys and Lily had equally shocked expressions. Perhaps that had been a tad…blunt.

"Pardon?" She asked raising her brows.

"Ah…Potter here already said he would escort me, so I really don't need your help Lily." Charlotte smiled brightly, too brightly to be in any case genuine, and turned to Potter who stood before the Potion table looking utterly confused.

"I never-" He started, looking towards Lily.

Charlotte swiftly sent her left leg into his right calf. The action was hidden behind the table; however, his reaction was most definitely anything but subtle.

"Ah shit!" He cried, bunching over and hopping on his leg. He sent an annoyed glare towards Charlotte, however she already had a heated scowl of her own. Her eyebrows rose and she nodded towards her sister who was watching the scene with clear scepticism "Yeah I... Yeah."

Potter was as smooth as a _shivelfig_ and it was obvious to everyone that she had forced him into agreeing with her.

"Godric, let's go Potter," Charlotte said with a sigh, grabbing onto the back of his robe and yanking it firmly out of the room.

Considering Potter was taller than Charlotte and incredibly built, it was quite funny to watch her dragging him towards the front door. Both Lily and Sirius had matching perplexed expressions; however Lily's seemed to be more annoyed, clear indication that her attempt at avoiding her sister had been obvious.

"Ah… alright then!" Potter cried yanking back his robe. Charlotte complied and let go, allowing him to roughly grab his bag and follow Charlotte out of the potions classroom. He waited till they were several classrooms away before grabbing onto her arm and twisting her around so she was facing him.

"What the bloody hell was that about!" He seethed. Charlotte widened her eyes when she realised he truly _was_ angry at her. Thinking back on her actions, perhaps she shouldn't have kicked him and yanked him out of the classroom like that.

She had managed to make him look even more dishevelled than usual. His robe hung at an odd angle on his shoulders and added to the loose tie and untucked shirt, he looked like a bloody homeless person. It didn't help at all that his thick hair seemed to stick out every which way, giving off the idea that Potter had never heard of a hairbrush, or at least some calming spells to tame his wild hair.

His glasses were askew on his nose, and his eyes were practically illuminated with anger. What was usually an ocean blue colour flecked with soft brown, was now blindingly iridescent. The unnaturally haunting colour was burning through her with a heated gaze that had her flushed in an instant as the feelings of guilt and embarrassment came over her.

"Sorry," Charlotte whispered, feeling guilty under his furious gaze. "About the kick."

"And the dragging me away?" Charlotte was surprised at his anger. Sure it hadn't been very kind to pull him away like that, but he was virtually _steaming_ at her.

"Well you might have guessed from our overly public discussion last night that Lily and I aren't on the best of terms," She explained, scuffing her shoes against the stone floor as she attempted to look anywhere except his bright hazel eyes which were piercing through her resolve. “I wasn't ready to hear her admonish me for being immature and so forth."

"Well it is rather _immature_ to drag me away just so you wouldn't have to talk to your sister," He replied mockingly beginning to walk again.

"Maybe I needed to talk to you as well!" Charlotte cried with equal indignation catching up to him in a few short strides.

"Do you?"

"Well, no,' She admitted with a sheepish smile. "But we might as well, seeing as we are both off to defence anyway."

Both students walked in silence down the hallway, completely unsure of what to talk about. Charlotte couldn't think of a single thing to talk to him about, and he apparently was having the same problem.

Other than the rubbish Lily managed to spew out whenever she was on a rant, Charlotte really didn't know a thing about James Potter. He, obviously, knew very little about her as well.

She peeked glance at him from under her eyelashes and noticed he was in deep concentration, likely thinking something over. Hopefully it was a wonderful conversation starter, because their silence was beginning to become awkward.

"Does Lily-"

Instantly Charlotte stopped and grabbed onto Potters forearm so he paused for a moment as well. She didn't mind what they spoke of, in fact she would happily talk about anything in that moment other than the one thing he likely wanted to talk about.

"Can we not talk about Lily please? I know you fancy her or whatever, but surely your life doesn't revolve around her existence."

Charlotte watched as the pinks in Potter’s cheeks glowed for a few seconds as he looked away from her, running a hand through the mess of hair waving on his head.

"Er…No of course not. What do you suggest we talk about then?"

"Well you play Quidditch right? Tell me about that," Charlotte suggested with a shrug. Honestly she had no interest in Quidditch. Other than the few games she had been dragged to by Lily, where she managed to sneak away within the first 15 minutes anyway, she had never taken a personal caring for the sport.

"I don't just _play_ , darling, I'm the Gryffindor captain. A bloody good chaser, one of the best," Potter said with a smirk that made his eyes wrinkle and a dimple appear on his left cheek. His arrogant comment was enforced further in the way he puffed out his chest and sauntered beside her.

He may be an arrogant sod, still, Charlotte visibly deflated in relief at seeing anything but a frown or scowl on his face, and his usual cocky attitude returning.

"Always have such a high opinion of yourself?" She beckoned with a glint in her eye as he smiled at her brightly, letting go a little of the arrogant façade, walking normally beside her once again.

"Why of course! Someone has to." The comment caused a moment of sobriety between the two, no doubt thinking about the same person who had little to no opinion of Potter. It really did seem to bother Potter the way Lily often dismissed him, even the thought had him frowning, as he was now.

"What do you like about Quidditch? I'm not really a fan myself, though I haven't watched many games... It all seemed rather boring to me."

"Not a fan... _boring..._ good Godric. What kind of witch are you!" Potter cried his hazel eyes flashing brightly.

"Err..." Charlotte stuttered, confused at his sudden outbreak. Surely it wasn't that odd that she wasn't a fan. She couldn't possibly be the only witch who hadn't appreciated the sport.

"Quidditch isn't just a sport! Quidditch is an art!" He cried, his arms flinging out wildly. Charlotte stepped back slightly, a little unnerved at his display of annoyance.

"Each player has a part, a position. Without each individual effectively playing their part, do you know what would happen?” Charlotte shook her head hurriedly in response, eyes wide. “We wouldn't stand a chance. Communication is so important within a team, we have to learn to read each other, to know what actions mean and where we will go and what we will do. Quidditch players have to be amazing flyers. With both teams in the air, one wrong move and you can find yourself in the infirmary in a flash. Quidditch is in no way boring!"

 _Bloody hell_. If this rather loud and scary confrontation told Charlotte anything, it was that Potter had a very deep passionate love for Quidditch, possibly more ardent than his feelings for Lily. His wide frame was looming over her as he stared her down, waiting for her response. He likely didn't realise how intimidating he was, or the way Charlotte was practically shaking.

"I didn't mean to offend you Potter, honestly," Charlotte said in a small voice, avoiding his burning eyes. Hesitantly she gave him a soft smile. "I didn't know there were so many aspects to the game. What's your favourite part?"

Potter sighed loudly and ducked his head, shaking it. When he looked back up, all anger or annoyance had disappeared, and he gave her a genuine grin. Charlotte instantly felt the same warming feeling in the pit of her stomach at his soft smile that had suddenly become a recurring event.

"The flying, definitely the flying." He said softly, motioning his hand towards the hallway as they began walking again.

Charlotte couldn't move her eyes off him however, and had to trust that if someone else walked down the hallway, they would think to move before she did. Where he had defended Quidditch with a burning fire in his eyes, he spoke of flying softly. His eyes were glazed, recounting fond memories and experiences. "Going so fast that the crowd becomes a blur, dodging around the opposing chasers. You lose yourself in the experience, all cares falling away. It's the most amazing feeling."

"I like flying too," Charlotte admitted with a fond smile. Potter had practically described her own thoughts on flying, other than the Quidditch bits of course. She had loved flying ever since a broom had lifted into her outstretched hand. It had been her favourite part of being a witch, and she missed it dreadfully.

"You like flying but you don't like Quidditch?" He asked with a laugh, considering her out of the corner of his eye. "That seems to be rather contradictory."

"Well I've never played, and the last time I flew on a broom was in 3rd year, we couldn't afford one at home. I ' _borrowed_ ' a broom out of the Gryffindor team's collection." She admitted sheepishly with a cough of laughter.

"You stole a broom?" Potter burst out laughing and paused their walk to catch his breath. He had grabbed onto her arm whilst laughing and she blushed inconspicuously. She wasn't overly sure what was so funny, perhaps that it was  _her_  who stole a broom, or maybe because most students who were interested in flying already had one.

"Well only for a little while, Filch almost caught me so I didn't end up doing it again," She explained with a sigh. "Or anything remotely against the rules"

Potter eventually let go of her arm and began thinking something over determinedly. Charlotte knew this because he was staring at her with his nose scrunched up. It had become the tell-tale sign that he was thinking about something and she had to admit that he looked horribly cute whilst doing it.

"You know... Seeing as I am captain, you could always fly with me sometimes," He offered eventually. Charlotte's eyes widened and she couldn't help the wide smile that broke out across her face. "I have admittance to fly on the pitch whenever my heart desires."

"You mean on separate brooms right?" She clarified pointing between them.

"Of course," Potter said with a laugh as though it should have been obvious, and really it had. Charlotte blushed slightly at her slightly idiotic assumption.

"I'd like that" Charlotte grinned up at Potter who winked in response.

She was so incredibly happy that she hadn't even realised they were standing in front of their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom only a few minutes later.

She had been imaging herself on a broom flying around the Quidditch pitch and sadly couldn't bring up any of the emotions Potter had so easily expressed earlier. It had just been so long since she had flown.

Almost every year since her first, Charlotte had begged her parents for a broom, even saying that it could be her birthday and Christmas present for several years, but their reply was always the same. Though Lily and Charlotte's parents were a lot more accepting than some other muggle parents, they were still hesitant to bring magic into their home, and that meant no brooms, no potions, no incantations and no spell work.

They allowed both their owls to roam freely, but it had taken weeks of convincing in their first year that it was better for the owls and them if they had free reign. Charlotte loved her parents, but they were muggles who really didn't understand their world, and it seemed no matter how hard both she and Lily tried, they didn't want to.

Just the thought of being able to fly again sent her soaring through the clouds. It made her somewhat nervous that Potter would be there, considering she hadn't flown for 3 years, but she pushed the feeling down. After all he had generously offered to take her onto the pitch, allowing her to use the school brooms even though she wasn't on the team. He was being awfully nice. Rather a shame that he was only doing it because she was Lily's sister.

"By the way, for tonight..." Potter said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Meet me outside the common room at 10pm"

Charlotte went on to assume he meant for their 'meeting'. She had still yet to prepare for it, not that she knew what she should be preparing. The fact that she and Lily were currently 'fighting' lessened her guilt somewhat at helping potter, not really enough that she wasn't nervous.

"Uh, that's past curfew," Charlotte said dumbly a frown on her face, stating the obvious.

"I know," He said with a smirk, running a hand through his unruly hair. Charlotte absently wondered how many times each day he would have to do that. His hair was styled so the top was longer than the sides, but his messy waves always seemed to land right in front of his eyes. He could probably just cut his hair shorter so it wasn't so messy and in the way, but his hair sort of completed his look. He wouldn't really be James Potter without his unruly wavy hair that was never for a moment sitting flat on his head.

"Oh, and wear something warm, coat and scarf type of thing. Definitely not school robes."

So, it was rather cold lately, but where could they possibly be going in the castle that would require her to wear warm clothing that wasn't school uniform?

Charlotte knew that Potter was rather mischievous and had a knack for getting into trouble or doing stupid stuff that got his friends into trouble, but she really had no wish to be included in his nonsense. She had a perfect record, other than the drinking discovery, and wouldn't tarnish it because of his infatuation with her sister.

"What on earth are you up to James Potter?" She asked suspiciously as he opened the class room door for her, bowing and waving a hand in front of him so she would walk in first. She rolled her eyes at his gallantry, but stepped forward none the less.

"It's a surprise," He whispered to her on her way past, his breath hot on her neck and a fire on her cheeks.

"Of course it _bloody_ is,” Charlotte grumbled, stalking off into the classroom, absentmindedly running her hand over the spot on her neck where his breath had run across, knowing that James Potter was nothing but trouble.

 


	6. Chapter 6

POVs: Chatlotte Evans

Word count: 4,631 words

Date posted: 19/05/2018

**Chapter Six**

**(~Charlotte Evans~)**

 

"Potter we are going to get caught!" Charlotte snapped, her hands wrapping around the long coat she had on. It may only be spring, but it was still bloody freezing, with or without the sun for warmth.

Considering it was almost 10 pm, it was considerably cooler, and the weather was enough to make her regret trusting Potter. He had come to her around an hour ago whilst she was reading in the common room, saying they would be having their 'meeting' at a more _comfortable_ venue.

Charlotte was okay with that. What she hadn’t been okay with, was him not telling her where this comfortable venue was.

She’d assumed, hoped even, that it would be a nice warm place, perhaps with a fire. So far she could barely feel her toes and didn't need a mirror to know her nose was likely as red as Lily's hair.

Potter had told her to dress warmly, so she had. Jeans, 2 shirts and the thickest woollen jumper she could find, all hidden within her brown calf length coat that was meant to be made for this sort of weather.

Charlotte couldn't work out if it was only her that was bloody freezing, as potter looked completely fine and unbothered by the relentless wind that was somehow drifting throughout the hallways.

He was wearing a similar fashion to her. Jeans and a coat, however all he had underneath was a thin white cotton shirt. She knew it was thin because through it she could see his abdominal muscles all too well. Let's just say that she refused to tell him why she blushed so badly when she saw him.

"Well yeah, if you keep _yelling_ we will," Potter remarked with a quiet laugh moving slowly down the hallway, every few seconds taking a glance at a piece of parchment he refused to show her.

He had pulled it out of his coat shortly after they left the common room, but pulled it out of eyesight whenever Charlotte attempted to see what it was. Really he was only increasing her curiosity. If it was just a piece of parchment, why would he be hiding it?

"Hello _love_ ," a voice whispered in Charlotte's ear, a faint breath dancing across the sensitive area of her neck not covered by her Gryffindor scarf. Instinctively she spun around her wand ready, a scream daring to rip through her throat. Her wand poked with flesh and she met stormy eyes which looked highly amused at her quick reflexes.

Ragged hair, lilac scarf and a thick black coat bundled around him as he smirked cheekily at Charlotte, even as she pointed her wand at him. It was just _Sirius_ and if he didn't wipe that infuriating smug smile off of his face, she would not be held responsible for whatever damage her wand may do to him.

"James, _Charlotte_ ," He said with a nod to the both of them, sending a wink to Charlotte as he stepped beside his friend and ruffled his already messy hair with his hand, earning a scowl from Potter who attempted to smooth it back in place. A lost cause if she ever saw one.

"Bloody hell Sirius you _bastard_ ," She said with a gasp, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. "You scared me half to death!"

Not that they could know, though likely guess, she wasn't exactly one for sneaking around the castle dangerously close to curfew. Every whisper of sound that echoed throughout the corridor sent a fearful chill down her spine, one that wasn't due to the ridiculously cold weather.

She hadn't been joking when she told Potter the last rebellious thing she had ever done at Hogwarts was when she 'borrowed' a school broom. Charlotte had only had the broom in her possession for 30 minutes before she returned it, too worried about the consequences. She had barely flown on it before it was returned to its rightful place in the Gryffindor Quidditch shed.

"Only _half_?" He asked smugly, winking at her.

"I'm warning you," she said lowly, her wand still out and pointed at him, even as she leaned against the stone wall. Though she wouldn’t actually hex him, the boy was really pushing it.

She didn’t like to be startled like that, and his obnoxious smug responses were only infuriating her. Enough so that she had several worthy hexes in mind that might just teach him a lesson. He just rolled his eyes and laughed loudly.

"Both of you _be quiet_." Potter seethed in a low voice. He’d been feeling the brick wall near them, a rather odd sight, stopping only to send them both a heated glance that had Charlotte instantly lowering her wand. "The entrance is somewhere around here…"

"What entrance?" Charlotte asked looking at the dull bricks Potter had both his hands against. His hands moved slowly, pressing against each brick until his hand pushed one back. All at once the bricks disappeared, creating a darkened archway where a wall once was.

" _That_ entrance," Sirius said, laughing at the awed expression on Charlotte's face as she looked at the doorway which had not been visible a few moments ago.

She had never heard of secret entrances or exits to Hogwarts. It was likely that if anyone knew about it, it would be these two.

"Bloody hell," Charlotte breathed, stepping forward so she could see into the hole in the brick wall that suddenly appeared.

"Pretty cool huh?" Potter whispered eagerly with a triumphant smirk. Charlotte could hardly see him in the darkness of the hallway, but she could tell his eyes were lit up excitedly.

_'Pretty cool'_ weren't exactly the words she'd use to describe ir. She was never one for breaking rules, but she couldn't help but appreciate the impressive sight before her.

"Pretty cool? It's _bloody amazing_!" Charlotte said with a bright smile, stepping through the archway and pulling out her wand, sending up a quiet _lumos_. Her wand flickered for a moment before it lit.

From where she could see, the pathway which, like the castle was completely brick, had no end. Even if she sent out a _Lumos maxima_ , which could glide through the passage way to the end, she wouldn’t be surprised if there was only more brick.

By that realisation, Charlotte estimated that this pathway was longer than the grounds of the school, and clearly led out of it.

"Well I'm glad you think so," Potter said with a smile, nudging her shoulder as he walked past.

"How on earth did you find it," She breathed, still utterly stunned.  She rubbed her hands against her cheeks when she felt the recognisable warmth of a blush taking over. Bloody _Potter._ Her reaction to a playful nudge was _not normal_. 

“Ah but that would be telling,” Sirius answered with a wink.

Why did they have to be so mysterious about everything? First it was their ridiculous nicknames, then their weird club name and that parchment Potter refused to show her and now they couldn't tell her how they found a bloody passageway.

"Well can you at least tell me where we are going?" Charlotte asked with an annoyed sigh. She found that she’d been doing that a lot lately.

"Hogsmeade. Hopefully we will get there soon cause I’m dying of hunger," Sirius said, rubbing his stomach with his hand. Charlotte raised a questioning brow. Dinner had only been a little over 2 hours ago, surely he couldn't be hungry already.

"You're _always_ bloody hungry," Potter answered her silent question with a laugh, swinging his fist and hitting Sirius on the shoulder.

"Can't help it. I have an appetite of a dog." Sirius repeated the same action as Potter, a wide smile on his face. All Charlotte could do was stare dumbly at their weird male bonding moment.

Is that what all guys their age do? Punch each other?

"Touché my friend, touché."

“Does this go all the way to Hogsmeade?” Charlotte interrupted their odd conversation, not sharing their amusement and feeling a little out of sorts with it all.

“Nah, just enough out of Hogwarts grounds that we can apparate.” Charlotte paused in her gait and looked back slightly at Sirius who had spoken the words she honestly hoped she had misheard.

“Did you say apparate?” She asked cautiously.

“Yeah...”

Charlotte instantly swung around on her heels and began walking the other way, her hair and long coat whipping around behind her at an intense speed.

“Oh good _Godric_ , I'm going back,” she muttered, attempting to sidestep Potter who had been a few feet behind her.

Considering he was a chaser, and apparently the 'best', he had a rather slow reaction time. She managed to pass him and almost made her way past Sirius, but unfortunately wasn't as lucky.

“Hey, _hey_ wait,” Sirius said, grabbing onto her arm, just as she passed him. She attempted to shrug it off but his concerned expression made her pause.

“Charlotte if you can't apparate, we can take you. Side-along-apparition is no problem,” Potter said with a frown. Charlotte looked between Sirius and Potter, assessing their genuinely concerned expressions. She felt a little uncomfortable honestly. Were they really _worried_ about her?

"It's not that I _can't_ , it's just…"Charlotte paused and frowned. What was it with these two boys and managing to find the most sensitive and raw conversation topics?

"Well?" Sirius implored, his hand loosening on her arm but not letting go just yet.

"First time I tried I got splinched," She muttered, her expression stony and distant.

Preferring to not visit the painful memory. Annoyed once again that they had managed to uncover another personal aspect of her life.

The last few days she had managed to share more between these two idiots than she had with anyone in _years_. It made her wonder if they had cursed her somehow or possibly slipped veritaserum into her meals.

She was still tossing up the idea that Potter was a Veela, and possibly even Sirius as well. They always seemed to have a pack of followers gathering around them wherever they went, and the girls in all years swooned just at their mere sight.

Charlotte could admit, they _were_ good looking. It was hard enough to admit that, so there it was.

But, they weren't  _that_  good looking and not that nice either, so why was it that she continued to share such sensitive information with them? Was she really so desperate for social interaction that she would blurt out her deepest darkest fears and troubles to the first person who seemed to care?

“Oh..”

“Yeah oh. It was bloody painful and I don't want another re-run,” She growled, pulling her arm from Sirius' and crossing it over her chest.

Bloody painful is a tad of an understatement, her entire back had a large scar running from her right shoulder blade down to her hip, testimony to her pathetic attempt at apparating.

It had only been the very first lesson. She had been the only one to apparate, though unsuccessfully. Thankfully it hadn't been a whole body part, just a large gash, it was still painful sometimes and made her want to avoid apparating at all costs.

The scar was horribly ugly and she still had yet to find a potion, cream or charm that could make it look any less grotesque. Even Lily hadn't found anything that could change its appearance, other than simple concealment charms. She would have gone to Madam Pomfrey about it but, well, it was rather embarrassing. Thankfully she didn't exactly have any friends who would be at risk of seeing it. She moved her mind from the image of her deformed back and instead looked to both boys.

Honestly she was rather surprised the boys could apparate. The lessons had only been going on for 2 months, and that wasn't exactly a lot of time to learn a complete new form of magic.

However, Potter was an animagus, which was obviously an extremely complex type of magic, so she shouldn't be that surprised. Sirius was… well he was good at potions, so perhaps he isn't as stupid and oblivious as he looks.

"Charlotte, I'm a fantastic apparator, very safe. You won't get splinched," Sirius said with a smile. He looked like he was being honest, then again he had spent a whole lesson buttering Charlotte up enough that she would want to help Potter and another poking at rather sensitive topics that she had no wish to discuss. For someone who looked so easily trusting, he didn't exactly do a whole lot to prove that he had earned it.

"Alright,” Charlotte muttered, pointing a finger in Sirius' face. "But if I do, get splinched that is, you better bloody believe I'll get you for it."

In fact, she would go so far as to try some new hexes she had learnt in a certain book she found in the restricted section. She had been dying to try them out, but getting splinched wasn't exactly worth trying some measly hexes.

"I don't doubt it," he said with a wink. Charlotte simmered her annoyance at his nonchalance of her painful experience with apparition. It disappeared completely when she met Potter's eye and he smiled encouragingly at her.

"Not that I'm not excited for our little adventure boys, but where exactly in Hogsmeade are we going. And, probably an even more important question, _why_?" Charlotte asked with a sigh. She was exhausted.

They had done some pretty advanced magic in defence and between her classes, avoiding Lily, growing anxiety about her deal with Potter and the Animagus book she was still attempting to understand, she had hardly slept since she had met Potter that morning.

Charlotte was actually hoping this 'meeting' wouldn't take too long so that she could still manage to get a few hours of sleep before classes tomorrow. However unlikely that may seem.

"Three broomsticks, every Tuesday we go out for a drink." Charlotte stared dumbly at Potter, trying to suggest _'and?'_ with her expression by quirking her brows. It wasn't working on him, as he just looked confused at her.

“Since you're stealing prongs away, we thought it would be better for you to join us,” Sirius clarified, apparently understanding her non-verbal question.

“Alright, and by us you mean...” She asked, fearing their answer. Surely it was just the three of them.

“Remus and Peter will be there as well,” Potter said with a shrug of his shoulders.

_Please be joking._

“And me of course,” Sirius added with a smirk.

Oh good Godric they weren't joking. Charlotte was about ready to explode at Potter. Had she not told him that she wanted hardly anyone to know? Why was it that he could tell 3 of his friends and she couldn't tell...Never mind. The fact that she had no friends of her own to tell was not the point at all. If Charlotte got into trouble for any of this, she would be sure to drag Potter with her, kicking and screaming if need be.

“Potter I said I would talk to YOU about Lily, not half of the bloody Gryffindor boys in sixth year!” She yelled stomping her foot on the stone underneath them, ignoring the laughing of Sirius to her left, instead stalking up to Potter till they were a few feet apart. "Do they know about my interest in Animagus? I swear if you tol-“

“Shh!” Potter hissed back, his hand pushed against Charlotte's mouth. Charlotte closed her eyes and sighed.

“Sorry,” She mumbled against his hand. She had been practically screeching at him, and though she knew the stone walls of the school were thick, she was being rather loud.

“Don't worry, we'll only be with them for a bit, then I'll tell them to buzz off,” Potter said slowly, raising a questioning brow until she nodded and he released his hand. The action reminded her of their meeting in the library and she unconsciously blushed, thankful for the darkness of the pathway even with light spells.

“But I'm staying,” Sirius said, waggling his brows.

“Why exactly? I wasn't joking around before when I said I didn't understand why your presence was necessary,” She said sarcastically poking him with her wand, which was lit up on the end in a similar fashion to Sirius and Potter.

“And _I_ wasn't joking when I said that hurt my feelings,” He replied with a mock pout, forcing Charlotte to shove on his shoulder.

“You going to answer the question?” Charlotte asked with a brow raised, her arms crossed on her chest even as they continued to walk down the pathway.

“Nope.”

“You’re bloody infuriating!”

“Not the worst thing I've been called by a bird.”

“Pft. Of that, I have no doubt,” Charlotte muttered shaking her head. She knew very well that he had been called _far_ worse. The other Gryffindor girls had a tendency to talk far too loud about topics that should be spoken about discretely, or better yet, not at all.

Somehow almost every girl had something to say about Sirius, usually revolving around his looks, how he was a tad of a slag and other topics that had Charlotte blushing.

"Okay here is the exit, it's steep so Sirius and I will go first then we will pull you up," Potter said with a frown, glancing from the wall to Charlotte and back again.

Charlotte looked at the 'steep' ascent he had been describing and glared at Potter.

Really it was more of a tall step or wall that she would just have to pull herself up from. It was just above her head and would mean she'd have to jump for it. The suggestion that either boys helped her get up was, however, a little offensive. Sure, she wasn't exactly muscled and built as they were, but she was no delicate flower either.

She was practically double Lily's size and had enough natural muscle that she wouldn't struggle with such an easy task.

"Pull me up?" She asked incredulously with a snort. "What the hell do I look like? A _doll_? I'll lift myself up."

“Well alright then love, no need to get your knickers in a knot.” Sirius laughed mockingly and nudged Potter who looked just as unconvinced, though less whimsical.

From his mocking tone, it was obvious he didn't think she could do it, making her all the more determined to prove him wrong. Perhaps she wanted to show off a little as well. Charlotte blamed that small trait on Lily however as she was the one who always seemed to flaunt… everything, _all the bloody time_.

“Oh shut it,” Charlotte grumbled, shoving Sirius' shoulder on the way past to the wall. She could hear his snickers behind her, but ignored them, preferring to concentrate on finding a way to get up and over the wall the fastest and most sensible way possible.

Lifting her hands up, she realised she could easily meet the top of the walls height without standing on her toes or needing a lift. Slowly, she undid the buttons on her coat and pulled it off, turning and throwing it at Potter who caught it with a confused look on his face. She turned back towards the wall and refused to acknowledge the shiver running down her spine at the brisk air that somehow wafted through the pathway.

Grabbing the top of the wall with both hands, she lowered slightly, her knees bent, then pushed up with a great amount of momentum. She kicked her legs out when she reached maximum height and found herself suspended in a split position just under the top of the wall, hands pushed against each side of the wall.

Godric it burned her inner thighs to stay like that, and had she stayed any longer, she likely would have torn a muscle. With all the strength she had left, she pushed forward and rolled on top of the wall, her legs releasing the sides of the stone wall and tucking under her as she rolled.

Charlotte found herself facing a small wooden door, and as she assessed it, she rubbed her thighs slowly, almost regretting using her gymnastics skills from when she attended the muggle class several years ago.

Her body was far stiffer and longer that it used to be, and it had strained almost all the muscles in her inner thighs and upper arms to have her full weight landing on her legs like that. She knew that tomorrow she'd likely wake up in agony, her muscles loudly complaining of their abuse.

Charlotte turned back around and leant over the wall, sitting on the back of her ankles as she looked at the two stunned wizards staring in awe at the wall. She rolled her eyes. Honestly, the wall wasn’t _that_ high.

"Oi, Potter," She called, gaining his attention which had been stuck on the wall, possibly measuring how high it was relative to Charlotte’s height. "Toss up the jacket _love_."

He seemed to be rather confused as to what she was asking, until he no doubt remembered he was still carrying the long coat in his hand. With an embarrassed smile, he threw the coat up, Charlotte just managing to catch it before it fell back down.

Not waiting for either of them to get themselves over the wall, as Charlotte was still annoyed at their scepticism, she shuffled towards the small door. She pulled her wand out of her jacket pocket but was surprised to find it wasn’t locked, and simply opened the door.

Charlotte crawled her way out and stretched her arms over her head, groaning when she could already feel the pain in her arms and legs.

The pathway had led out to the road from which they went to Hogsmeade on carriages. It was still technically Hogwarts ground, yet none of the wards which were in place all over the school were in this area, so they would be able to apparate freely, much to Charlotte's distress.

"I'm impressed." Potter called from behind her, just crawling out of the small door, Sirius following shortly after.

"That I could climb up a small wall? Oh how encouraging," She replied with a roll of her eyes looking around the large sparse area they had ended up in.

"Most birds wouldn't be able to climb up that," Potter pointed out watching her apprehensively.

"At least not the way you did it," Sirius added suggestively, looking her up and down.

“Well you're in luck, I'm not most birds,” Charlotte said shortly, sending a glare to the shaggy haired boy who was still watching her.

“I knew it! You're really a boy,” Sirius said with a smirk, winking towards Potter who rolled his eyes.

Charlotte socked him hard on the arm, her fist connecting with his bicep.

Unfortunately, no doubt due to endless Quidditch practises, his bicep was a lot harder than expected, and she found herself hiding her hand behind her back and biting her lip from the pain.

“Ow!” Sirius yelled, rubbing his arm with a pout on his lips. Highly unlikely that it had hurt him at all. His arm had been like a brick wall, and Charlotte was fairly certain her knuckles took the brink of impact.

"You deserved that," she muttered bitterly forcing her facial features into a crestfallen expression. Charlotte made a mental note to never attempt to physically attack either Potter or Sirius as they were a bit too fit for her weak muscles, and bones apparently.

Her hand was throbbing and somehow made her forget about the muscular pain coming from her legs and arms.

"Maybe I did, Sorry." Sirius had barely muttered the words and Charlotte took in his slightly awkward stance and the way he was rubbing the back of his neck. She smiled wide realising he actually looked apologetic.

"Damn straight." She said with a wide smile, surprising them all, her included, when she leant forward to pat his cheek mockingly. "Now how is this going to work?"

"Just wrap your arms around me love," Sirius said, holding his arms out in an expectant embrace.

"Or I can just put my hand on your arm?"

"Charlotte it would reduce the chance of being splinched if you did hug him." Potter pointed out with a reluctant smile. He walked over to Sirius and swung his arm around his shoulder poking his stomach with his finger so he inched away slightly. “He won’t bite.”

They both seemingly found this hilarious as they both fell into fits of laughter, hunched over with their arms swung over each other’s shoulders.

“You’re joking right?” Charlotte asked hopefully when they finally regained their composure.

“No, unfortunately it is the safest way.”

"And I wont bite, unless you want me too." Potter shoved Sirius as they laughed and he stepped away so they were at least several feet apart. "Well then?" Sirius asked smirking, holding his arms out in preparation of their hug.

With a groan she wrapped her arms loosely around Sirius's shoulders, uncomfortable with the idea of even being close to him.

Slowly he pulled her closer until their chests were flush against each other and her arms could wrap easily around his neck. Thankfully she was only an inch or two shorter than him. He was however far wider across the shoulders and she found herself almost encased in his warm arms. _Do not blush. Do not blush._

“Don't get any ideas pervert,” She muttered, pulling his hands up from her lower back towards her waist. Infuriating tingles sparking at the feeling of his hands grazing up her back, and she forced herself not to shiver. She doubted she would be able to blame it on the cold, no matter the weather.

“Hey!” Sirius said, laughing. Charlotte discovered that when he laughed, he laughed deeply, as she felt it from the centre of his chest as it rose upwards. They were so close that she felt every movement from him, and the feeling of his laughter tickled her uncomfortably.

"Hurry up," She grumbled, tired of blushing at the stupid boy.

"Hold on tight," he whispered in her ear, his breath brushing past dangerously. She was too full of fear to even appreciate how suggestive that small action was. She hadn't apparated since that first time and the longer they stood there, the more anxious she became. She had practically drawn blood from how hard she was biting her lip but didn't notice the taste, even as it pooled on her tongue.

"Bloody hell," she muttered as she gripped onto Sirius' neck tighter. Potter had already apparated away with a snap and she could feel Sirius turn slightly in preparation. Charlotte hugged him in a death grip and ignored the fact that she had never been so close to another person.

Before, when he had pulled them together, they were close. But now, you could hardly distinguish where one body started and the other ended. Charlotte had crushed herself against his body in the hopes that the closer she got, the less likely she would have a repeat of her last apparition. He chuckled softly again, making her nervous when she felt it on and in her own chest, and spun blindly.

Charlotte could feel herself spin in apparition and even as they continued to spin, she held onto Sirius' form tightly, refusing to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered before snapping into Hogsmeade was the swell of nausea rising in her stomach and the thought that she was probably going to spew all over Sirius and his lovely boots he seemed to be rather fond of.

 

 


End file.
